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Mistral Associates - News March 2024

Mistral Bargain Offer!



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Mistral's classic on-line Psychrometrics calculator just got even better. It is now instantly switchable between ten languages. And no, Mistral doesn't use Google or AI translation tools. Neither are up to the job! Especially when technical terms are necessarily involved.
All Mistral intelligence is real.

Mistral only ever relies upon real people, with real qualifications and with real talent!

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Mistral Associates - News February 2024

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Mistral celebrates 40th Anniversary
    

Click image to discover more!




Mistral Associates - News January 2024
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cellwind_pro.gif  Not the world's most popular dedicated Beer and Wine Cellar cooling and heating load calculation program. Simply because it is the world's first and ONLY dedicated Beer and Wine Cellar cooling and heating load calculation program!

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Mistral Associates - News December 2023

EDUCATION mortar_board_white_bg.gif ____

Mistral's special software package for colleges and other teaching establshments. Heavily subsidised Educational Software licences With the added benefit of earnings potential for schools and teachers.

Computer software is sometimes accused of 'de-skilling' a vocation. At Mistral we believe the total opposite is true. Providing clear and logical programs producing almost instant results in well under a twentieth of the time it takes to even assemble the essential questions for unregulated, unauthorised AI to create inaccurate uncorroborated answers.

Programs clearly illustrating 'cause and effect', to both expert and novice alike, so as to quickly enhance their understanding and their abilities. This view is clearly shared by leaders and tutors in many hundreds of teaching establishments throughout the world that provide specialised training, serving the commercial refrigeration and building services industries and that already use Mistral software. Even to collect the literally millions of items of statistics, factors, constants, algorithms, formulae, empirical and scientific data that the programs alone contain would cost an individual many, many times that of the programs' licence access fees!

spacer_transparent.gifEarnings potential for schools and teachers.
50% of selling price paid as commission!
.   Click here to read more.

Mistral's commitment:
Bringing the benefits of computerisation to our industry - without the historically associated problems.



Mistral Associates - News November 2023

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1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment

1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment trains Royal Engineer soldiers in construction and engineering. The school provides the final part of a Sapper's training before they are posted to their first Regiment.

Mistral is proud and honoured that 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment, along with three other British Army Regiments, have each installed compendiums of Mistral's Expert System RAC Application Engineering software. Comprising programs 'Airwind', 'Coldwind', 'Linewind' and nine others.



Mistral Associates - News October 2023

The UK Porous Concrete debacle.

"You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." The ancient proverb declares. silk_purse.gif

The UK government continues to procrastinate over the already now infamous Porous Concrete construction debacle. Wasting yet more beleaguered tax payers' money. Putting peoples' lives at risk, and as many suspect buildings are schools, especially children's lives.

It is not economically viable and it is not practical to repair these construction mistakes from the past. So no one should waste their time and breath trying to pretend otherwise.

No blame. No shame. Mistakes happen. In the best of spheres. However prevarication could be a crime. No government would wish to be in power in a repeat of Aberfan or Grenfell Tower. What is needed is STRONG government. Capable of riding over and dismissing the objections of work shy protesters and other unemployables. A government that will act now!

Simple solution. Close all suspect buildings immediately. Ahead of imminent compulsory Demolition. Create an emergency plan for manufacture of thousands of Portakabins* and similar. Temporarily sequester playing fields and town and city parks to erect them in.

postwar_prefabricated_homes_housing_estate.gif Over seventy five years ago the country was capable of doing similar. Creating tens of thousands of what became colloquially named 'Prefabs' (factory made pre-fabricated buildings). Although originally designed to last only a decade or so and until more permanent structures were to replace them, though many are still inhabited today. Albeit usually after being brickwork skinned. Mainly for aesthetic reasons.

Adolf Hitler took care of the pre-requisite Demolition job, flattening tens of thousands of homes, factories and other buildings, both public and private, during his nightly multi-aircraft bombing raids over Britain.

Perhaps politicians and bureaucrats were brighter in those days. More conscious of imperatives and less so of their own careers and public images.

The point in this missive? When the government finally get their act together and adopt precisely the advice above, and which they will, because they have to, then look no further than Mistral's 'AIRWIND' and 'COLDWIND' programs to quickly calculate heating and cooling loads for Portakabins, along with their equally suitable contemporaries' products.

The fact that the author and colleagues spent well over a quarter of their 1960s and 70s education being taught in perfectly respectable, safe and comfortable Portakabins, placed on the perimeters of playing fields and car parks of overcrowded schools and colleges, has nothing to do with this article. But the point is, they worked then and they can again!

* Portakabin Ltd are long established makers of factory made portable (highway transportable) buildings. Their respected name has become a generic term for all such similar products also made by others. Hemsec and Rollalong for example also manufacture a wide range of pre-fabricated building panels for ultra rapid on-site building construction. Meeting all current building regulation and fire safety standards. Hemsec, Portakabin and Rollalong did not commission this article, or contribute to it.                 Click!

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Hemsec Insulated Panel selection data has been added to Mistral's program interactive databases.

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IMPORTANT ADVICE

Mistral regrets that for logistical reasons personal replies to questions where clear answers are already provided on this easy to navigate website are currently suspended.
Please refer to the side menu which appears in all 6,500 website pages.
Alternatively:-
For program download and installation advice click: Installation guide
Error code explanations and advice on correcting installation mistakes. Click: Error Codes
Program prices and on-line payment facilities. Click: Program prices and payments
Contract terms, legal, business policies and ethics. Click: Law and ethics
General Questions & Answers. Click: Q & A
For individual program specific Help topics. Click: Program Help pages and Manuals
If you are genuinely interested in purchasing space in Mistral's interactive RAC product selection databases, or white label coding, then please use Mistral's Feedback form. Please state your full company name and postal address, telephone number, business registration number, job title and confirm your decision making authority within your organisation. We will get back to you promptly.

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Mistral Associates - News September 2023

ai_dunce.gif We asked AI to design a simple refrigeration system.

The results were surprisingly impressive. Very detailed, comprehensive, and wrong!

Quite simply AI's design proposal would not have worked. Scarily though one would need to be an expert to understand why. Recommending a TD of 10K for a Beef Freezer too would also raise a few eyebrows. Particularly for a disgruntled client! Omitting Product Air Volume Displacement Factor also a fundamental mistake.

Serious enough problems of their own. Not as bad though as the time it took to assemble and present AI with the essential questions. And no, it isn't possible to make a one size fits all proforma question sheet for repeated use. Every project is different. Also describing some of the hard to conceive accurate literal accounts of many parameters takes an inordinate amount of time. Try describing an 'L' shaped room plan with one wall set at an angle for example.

With Mistral over 75% of parameters are 'pre-engineered' into the system. A highly, highly complex programming challenge which took years to develop. With the best will in the world no AI system will ever emulate that. The upshot is a *dedicated Expert Software system can and does obviate the need to enter at least 75% of design parameter questions. Half the benefit of using Expert System software. The remaining benefits being speed, accuracy, QA system compliance, consistency, audit trailability.    *Dedicated, proven, infallible and securely impenetrable by AI 'Bots'!

So. Twenty minutes assembling and writing the questions. Followed by AI taking 10 minutes to respond with a bloated list of largely irrelevant and therefore redundant detail, in a format which could never be used to make a presentation for a price tender or for a client cost quotation for example. No audit trailable, retrievable calculation file. Let alone substantiation of methodology or of absolutely essential accredited sources.

Thirty minutes in all. Compared with anything from as little as 20 seconds to a maximum of 2 minutes using Mistral's systems to meet exactly the same design request. With an accurate, viable, provable quality design. Complete with a presentation quality print-out and recoverable calculation file.

Mistral's commitment:
Bringing the benefits of computerisation to our industry - without the historically associated problems.

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Mistral Associates - News August 2023

'Airwind'© with auxilliary program 'Splitwind'©

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Mistral has launched another exciting new development. The addition of dedicated Heat Pump product selections are added to Mistral's current RAC product ranges which already include: Evaporators (Unit Coolers), Compressors, Condensers, Condensing Units, Packaged Refrigeration systems, Split A/C systems and Expansion Valves.

So, Heat Pump manufacturers and your distribution network get in now. You really do not want to be the only Heat Pump provider whose product selection data is not included! Contact Mistral here: feedback to ask us what we need from you in the form of data and we will reply with the simple procedure for you. For getting your product selection data included in the one, universal and comprehensive RAC Expert Software System which everyone uses.

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No charge upgrade for all Mistral 'Corporate' Licensees:- download_live_button_ani.gif


A new Corporate Access Registration Code may be required for older installations (4 weeks+) but this will be automatically forwarded when required.

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Mistral Associates - News July 2023

More on Artificial Intelligence.
What is known as a 'No brainer'!

In a nutshell.
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Mistral to celebrate four decades of RAC industry service this time next year.

Mistral, celebrating four decades of service next year, seems almost unbelievable to us. Particularly as four of our original team members are still with us. Four sadly passed away and the remaining five also sadly left us for pastures new. Particularly as everyone, including our bank manager, said we would fail. We didn't but his bank did! And particularly when we have seen the same number of plagiarist imitators come and go as the 39 years we have successfully remained in business. Every last potential imitator of which did fail.

No time to get cocky though. Mistral's 8,000+ page multi-lingual website is still maintained and edited, that is kept up to date, on a daily basis. Reflecting unrelenting changes, both in advances in the industry we are solely dedicated to serving and also of course, the brutally tough and unforgiving IT industry.

cd_rom_2017_perspective_350x200.gif We decided to celebrate though by looking back at our history and examining the highs and lows. Lows such as ordering 10,000 blank 3½" floppy discs. The same month we launched CD-ROM. Resulting in our never again selling another floppy disc version! Lows such as the office being struck by lightning in 1993 and having to fight the insurance company for more than two years. Ultimately being forced to settle for less than 20% of the replacement value of our critically important lost equipment.

Thank you Norwich Union, now Aviva. You won't EVER be forgotten. Even though you never received another Penny from us. Not even for all our personal home insurances, car insurances, Public Liability and Office Contents insurance or Health Care cover. From that near tragedy for us over thirty years ago, and to date!

The successes though. Much more pleasant to recall. Such as retaining to this very day almost every customer who ever signed up with us. The only ones that haven't done so regrettably being old friends who have since passed away, along with companies that ceased trading or more often, were absorbed by others.

Some principal strict operating policy rules contributing to Mistral's success:-

Mistral Principal Operating Policy Rules  flag_dk.gif  flag_de.gif  flag_es.gif  flag_uk.gif  flag_fr.gif  flag_it.gif  flag_nl.gif  flag_pl.gif  flag_po.gif  flag_se.gif
blue_star_24x24.gif Zero plagiarism. Third Party Royalties always paid and all Copyrights respected.
blue_star_24x24.gif All legitimate incoming correspondence, postal, telephonic, digital, answered within 24 hours. Globally.
blue_star_24x24.gif Total 'Dynamic Error Trapping'.
blue_star_24x24.gif All empirical chart data resolved to algorithm. Algorithms based upon 'Return to First Scientific Principles'.
blue_star_24x24.gif Elimination of all confusing, unnecessary jargon wherever possible. Both within IT and own RAC industry.
blue_star_24x24.gif Dynamically linked and focused, illustrated Help pages with all programs.
blue_star_24x24.gif Total operational capacity of saved results files, with full 'backwards compatibility' in successive issues.
blue_star_24x24.gif Robust program installation security and Copy Protection for customers' investments in Mistral's systems.
blue_star_24x24.gif All prices 'Fixed in Perpetuity', for all Licensee Accounts (subject of course only to fiscal inflation).
blue_star_24x24.gif No Subscription holder's accounts ever automatically debited. No Direct Debit of accounts.

These rules obviously helped. Actually, these all more than helped. Although many of these self imposed rules are practically unique in commerce, especially in IT, they quickly propelled Mistral to pole position. And for four decades have kept us there. With clear, mutual benefit for Mistral's essential customers and including of course, ourselves. Operating rules unchanged since drawn up in 1984. Apart from following the widespread malevolent introduction of Cookies in the mid 90s, Mistral's addition of a policy to never place 'Cookies' on visitors' computers. From any of Mistral's global websites!

Successes such as glowing testimonials, awards and accolades. Importantly, recognition by our peers.

To mark our justifiable pride in our products and especially our unassailable team who develop them and constantly, on a daily basis still maintain them today, we have restored one of our old web page and CD-ROM designs. From our popular 'Surrealist' ideas. We say popular because we have even discovered some of our dear customers hanging our weirder CD designs on their office walls! Art though is a powerful Marketing tool.

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Mistral does nothing without good reason. The surrealist image above has a message. Mistral's 'COLDWIND' Carrack is sailing across a planet of wheat. One of the world's staples. Although wheat and the flour it yields do not generally need refrigerating the millions of different food products made with flour as the principal ingredient invariably do. The food we eat, either in original form or as an ingredient, is refrigerated between field and plate on average seven times! Mistral's contribution to this is indispensable. Across the entire planet!

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Mistral Associates - News June 2023

Artificial Intelligence - Mistral's take.

Artificial Intelligence is in all the News right now. This is Mistral's take on the subject and it does not make for pretty reading! Mistral does not publish this because of any fears for its future. It is published because Mistral fears for the future of Mankind!

Back in 1990 when Mistral set about developing a Windows successor for its original 1984 DOS based programs, it afforded the opportunity to create a truly 'parallel functioning' user interface. As opposed to a linear progression from start to finish, as in the original DOS systems.

The benefits were obvious. It meant a Mistral program user could return to a previous input and edit it, then continue again from where they had left off.

The problem with that, from a programming point of view, is that each input, in a succession, can have a bearing upon what can 'qualify' for a subsequent input. In other words, an early input can define the 'range' limits of subsequent inputs. Therefore returning to change an early input can make a nonsense of later user entries. Though not always all entries.

Simply clearing all later input entries following such an edit would be unacceptable as making the parallel operating system practically useless. There would be little to be gained over the DOS versions. We therefore had to develop a system which we described as 'Dynamic Error Trapping'. The clue in the word 'dynamic'.

The task was daunting. Let's face it, a string, or a row, of just 7 short integer numerals can identify the location of every human being on the planet, including their age and gender. Add an eighth and you can identify their hair colour plus eye colour, along with how many dental fillings they might have! Nine numerals could in theory identify the location of every grain of sand on the planet, including its chemical compound, colour, mass and even depth.

Now deal with forty inputs! That is what we were up against and at first it seemed like mission impossible.

At the outset, Mistral cheered up its small team of highly qualified and skilled programmers, comprising an Honours Graduate, three Professors, and three members with a collective century of RAC experience, by declaring that Mistral software, if it was only 99.9% right would be useless as a viable, marketable product. It had to be 100%.

We do not believe for one moment that so called 'Artificial Intelligence' could ever achieve what Mistral has managed to achieve for the niche market it chooses to serve. At least not in the user program session times of, in some cases just a few seconds run time in which Mistral can offer a guaranteed, audit trailerable, accurate result. Importantly, a result for which Mistral is held accountable. The only way AI could achieve this might be by plagiarising Mistral. And frankly that is never going to happen. At least not in our lifetime.

The other challenge facing the likes of ChatGPT (AI) is that how will it even know what input parameters it will need in order to compute an entirely accurate and reproducible result? And from where or from whom should it seek the answers to those parameters? Much of those answers are proscribed, commercially sensitive data and only available to qualifying, that often means paying, account holders. If ChatGPT hacks through a Paywall then it is theft. Pure and simple. For which Mistral would certainly sue, for tens of millions in reparations. And no, Mistral does not give a damn about how big OpenAI (owners of ChatGPT) or Microsoft Corporation or Alphabet Inc (owners of Google) might be. Remember; David killed Goliath!

Furthermore, what logical GUI (Graphical User Interface) will AI assemble and display to the researcher looking for answers? Will that same GUI be repeated for the same user next day, or a week or a year, or ten years later? We think not. Frankly, if we were say, responsible for the budget of a large Supermarket chain, running into millions of Dollars or Pounds or Euros per month, then we would wish to know our spend was being directed to technology and data sources that are traceable and where the providers of that technology and data are accountable!

Finally. apart from Dynamic Error Trapping', another essential system Mistral developed is bullet proof security systems. And that is another of Mistral's trade secrets. So, AI or not, don't even think about asking!

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Mistral Associates - News April 2023

Major, milestone upgrade

As technology forges ahead, affecting every aspect of modern life, and perhaps in the area of IT (Information Technology) affecting hardware especially, then software has to keep pace.

Computer monitors for example have gone from 640 pixel × 480 pixel (4:3 aspect ratio) with 28,800 pixels 30 years ago to today's 5120 x 2880 resolution (16:9 aspect ratio) 'Retina' monitors with 14.7 million pixels. Software coding has to be constantly adjusted to accommodate the advances. And software coding doesn't come cheap. Why? Because apart from the extraordinary skill levels coders must possess, and, just like doctors, keep abreast of constant changes in their vast subject; coding is very, very time consuming. After that comes often months of 'Beta' testing & proving, adjustments, more testing, certification. Finally, compiling to compendium (compressing), uploading to servers and publishing.

Where once Mistral's 1,900 or more interactive program 'forms' would sit comfortably in the middle of the screen, generally intentionally sized so as not to conceal everything a user might wish to have open behind them, gradually, as monitors became larger many of Mistral's forms appeared to get smaller. When in reality they hadn't.

From time to time however intervals arrive where a total re-write is necessary. A re-write of a multi-million Pound (Euro) software development can itself cost hundreds of thousands and take many months.

Here is Mistral's latest size boost. Version 5.3a, issue number 744 since launch over thirty years ago, compared with its penultimate version (5.2z).

Check which version you currently have installed. Click on Help on the top menu bar, and then on About.


Upgrading for Mistral 'Corporate' and 'Subscription' Licensees is, as always, offered free of charge and achieved simply by visiting Mistral's website and finding either 'Corporate' or 'Subscription' download request pages appropriate to your country or regional location.

'Lifetime' Licensees should use Mistral's Feedback form, stating their name in full and/or organisation name, and request an upgrade price quotation. This will be offered with a generous discount of up to 75% off current, published list prices. Mistral may need to ask for details of Lifetime Licensee's present PC Operating System.

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Mistral Associates - News March 2023

Mistral Expert System software
Corporate program compendium, main 60 advanced core features
Discover what makes Mistral software hugely superior!

Mistral commenced researching and developing its first dedicated Refrigeration Load Calculation software in July 1984. A full 16 months before Microsoft Corporation launched Windows. The DOS based program was simply named 'Coldroom' when it launched in early 1989. 'Coldroom' was envisaged as a dire, urgent, need to eliminate the attrocious service so called software developers were providing our RAC industry at that time.

Interestingly 'Coldroom' ran with an early 16 colour (16 colours was all there were then!) graphical interface of drop down menus and which anticipated early designs of Microsoft Windows. A shame perhaps that Mistral didn't think of registering the name 'Windows'!   Such is hindsight.

Following a further three years of development, 'Coldroom's succesor, 'Coldwind', a program with an even stronger dependance upon graphical user interface, was launched in 1992. Quickly establishing itself as the most comprehensive, the only dynamically error trapped and the world leading Expert System software in the very genre its founders at Mistral had created.

With now well over half a million installations across 140 countries, home to more than 90% of the world's population, a position it indisputably still holds today. Almost four decades since the company's foundation.

People, from long, long time faithful friends through the decades, through to students and industry entrants today, naturally ask Mistral "How?" and "Why?".

Mistral runs a 'tight ship'. Very tight! Holidays and lunch breaks do not feature highly in any of Mistral's small team of seven staff work ethic. Most Health and Safety executives, and certainly Unions, would have appoplexy if only they knew! Mistral runs though as a 'Cooperative'. Everyone has equal shares and equal dividends. Therefore, to put it crudely, none of us gives a shit about Wokes and the rest of the seemingly ever increasing global burden of the work shy. So Mistral spends little on Marketing or even upon Sales. Quite simply, apart from the very early years, Mistral never found it to be necessary. We don't need to. All our products speak for themselves and sell for themselves.

Mistral creates its own promotions. So what you will read below is no exception. We apologise in advance for 'Preaching to the converted', as the expression goes! Makes for a good reference point though.

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Corporate Programs and Interactive Databases compendium
Multi-User access licence via annual contract management fee
1 All programs regularly 'Code Signed' by Microsoft Corporation as safe for operation on your PC
2 All programs 'Dynamically Error Trapped'. Unique but indispensable
3 Unique, 'Intelligent Logic' program coding. 'Observes' developing design so as to bypass subsequently redundant inputs. At the same time allowing full editing of earlier inputs. Without compromising dynamic error trapping. Ten times the coding effort resulting in three to four or more times program operational speed
4 Unique, 'Return Key Navigation'. Optional to standard Mouse navigation. Annalises developing design and by single press of Return (Enter) key automatically takes user to next logical input
5 Fully Parallel operation. Not sequential! Affording maximum flexibity, speed and experimentation
6 Networked program installation option
7 Programs automatically adjust for either comma or period (full stop) decimal point deliminator
8 'Airwind' Air Conditioning and heating load calculation. Multiple-rooms
9 'Cellwind' Dedicated Beer & Wine Cellar load calculation to recognised industry specifications
10 'Coldwind' Refrigeration cold room, freezer, blast freezer etc., load calculation. Multiple-rooms
11 Miscellaneous heat load sources, interactive, databases with Run Time and Power Factor controls
12 Automatic Solar Azimuth and Declination adjustment, globally to 250 metre planet surface and 15 minute interval accuracy. Full user seasonal adjustment controls. Mean and peak load reports
13 4 million+ 'Grid Size' Quick Selections pre-engineered solutions, selectable in around 7 seconds
14 Unlimited walls and angles of walls to each other on zoomable, graphical room plan designer
15 Single and Compound materials, wall, ceiling, floor construction creators, with automatic U values
16 Interactive, complete fenestration databases, with shading and variable ground surface reflectance
17 Pitched roof options and specific agricultural product store design
18 Ground floor or intermediate floor location with editable TD or mean sub-strata temperature
19 Variable construction and insulation materials within single design, even within single wall length
20 Variable TD options across construction wall and ceiling surface total or partial areas
21 Graphically driven interfaces and multiple choice menus for fast construction design flexibility
22 Scientifically calculated terrestrial Albedo factor, surface reflection and shading adjustment
23 Interactive Product and product storage equipment Thermal Properties illustrated databases
24 Switchable external or internal room dimensioning with automatic area and volume calculation
25 Default recommended defrost running load automatically entered along with optional user over-ride
26 'Prepwind' Dedicated Food Preparation Room refrigeration load (and winter heating) calculation
27 'Pipewind' Refrigerant Pipesizing. Multi-circuit. Circuit Zoning. Quick, pre-engineered designs
28 'Coolwind' Unit Cooler Selection. Singly or multiples
29 'Compwind' Compressor Selection & pack design
30 'Condwind' Condenser & Condensing Unit selection. Singly or multiples
31 'Packwind' Packaged Refrigeration Unit(s) selection. Singly or multiples
32 'Splitwind' Packaged A/C Split System selection. Singly or multiples
33 Estimated unit cooler fan load automatically entered with option to import manufacturers' data
34 Automatic equipment Sound Pressure Level calculation with distance and unit quantity adjustment
35 'Valvewind' Refrigeration Expansion Valve selection
36 'Metwind' Interactive Graphically driven World Meteorological Database
37 RAC product selections automatically display colour and dimensioned images from 157,000 file Cloud database. Images exportable to customer quotation generator
38 Automatic graphical Cooler/Condensing unit Balance Point calculator
39 Dedicated Refrigerated Container (TEU Reefer sizes) load calculation
40 Dedicated Refrigerated Eurotainer (aircraft perishable product container) load calculation
41 Cold room shelving interactive databases with 'Drag & Drop' images to room design drawings
42 Cold room, multi-national, Electrical Power Consumption calculator. Tariff updatable
43 Interactive digital multi-lingual Psychrometrics calculator including formatted instant results printout
44 Dynamically linked & focused, illustrated Help pages. In plain, easy to understand, jargon free text
45 24/7 Pre & Post installation support via Email
46 Special Feature Code program operation controls adjustment (except Corporate Lite)
47 Fully 'active' calculation recovery filing system for project full future editing
48 All Mistral program upgrades Backwards Compatible with all previously saved results files (30+ years)
49 Automatic Customer Quotation generation. User customizable Standard Paragraphs and text
50 Editable interactive databases (except proprietary, sponsored and certified, RAC selection databases)
51 All proprietary databases independently verified by data owners or appointed representatives
52 RAC selection database creation Freeware included, along with instructions and design templates
53 Ten Language switchable post installation. Run and save calculation in one language. Send to a
 colleague to open (and edit) in a different language
54 Real time, instant Imperial to SI (Système International d'unités) switchable post installation
55 Standard RTF and Adobe PDF, Presentation Quality results printouts
56 Tiresome jargon, both Refrigeration industry and 'computer speak' eliminated wherever possible
57 256 character calculation file name AND file TITLE Search Engine
58 Free Upgrading & Updating. Throughout Contract duration
59 Unassailable, four decade long world benchmark setting reputation. Reliable and trustworthy
60 Annual, low cost, access and management Licence fee, 'Fixed in Perpetuity' (subject only to inflation)

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Finally. Don't forget. If you haven't already joined then no one is forcing you to. It might though be worthwhile pondering over why almost all of your competitors have done so!

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Mistral Associates - News February 2023

"By popular demand!" As the hackneyed expression goes. But it's true! Mistral listens to its valued customers. So when more than two or three of our friends made similar requests for a new product format, Mistral listened again - and reacted!

We heard:-

"We're a small business and unlikely to need all of the more sophisticated features offered in your 'Corporate' software compendium. We also only have one person responsible for designing projects and for quoting our customers. Can you not offer us a software product to suit? At less cost then your 'Corporate' software compendium."

So we did. Mistral has created 'Corporate Lite'.

At this point it will be much easier for us to link you to our page which simply, yet comprehensively, explains the difference between Mistral's well known 'Corporate' Licence, and which has been around for more than three decades now, and our new 'Corporate Lite'. Therefore we invite you to click on the animation below.
spacer_transparent.gif Also see: Corporate Licence type comparisons

Click icons in graphic below to access more details of key parts of the 'Corporate Lite' compendium.

Mistral Corporate Lite

Before saying that you can't be bothered, perhaps if we tell you that the price is just £295 and that is for a single 'one off' payment covering the cost of a licence FOR LIFE!, then this might attract your attention!

Introduction of 'Corporate Lite'. presents a viable opportunity for smaller RAC contracting firms denied access to Mistral's 'Subcription Licence'.

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Mistral Associates - News January 2023


   Click to open    Mistral Advertising Objectives
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For more than three decades Mistral has brought quality expert system software to a specific niche market. The RAC industry. Bringing accurate, logical, intuitive, jargon free Application Engineering Software to the RAC industry, at the lowest possible cost to users.

There's the rub. The costs of research and development, the need for constant, daily code both upgrading and updating, maintaining essential security systems, along with all the usual costs of running a business, are eye watering. Even when measured globally the market Mistral serves is relatively tiny. Regrettably Mistral's operating costs can sometimes exceed revenue. But only just. And as for so many, malevolent politicians, pandemic, recession, inflation and global conflicts haven't helped.

An area Mistral has identified where more benefit can be added to its already extremely comprehensive systems is to help its software users connect quickly with essential suppliers. By carrying links to product and service supplier advertisements and to on-line purchasing.

Traditional advertising, but not of course on-line purchasing, is an area served by Trade journal or magazine publishers. Mistral believes at quite exceptionally high charges.

Mistral believes it has found a way to introduce advertisements to its world class software products unobtrusively, more effectively and far, far more economically.

Unobtrusively because advertisements must never impede, interfere with or obstruct the main purpose and functionality of the software. Mistral is determined that operation of its software will remain exactly as it always has done. No abhorrent 'Pop-ups' then! No surreptitious Cookies either. At least not in Mistral software or on its websites. Mistral neither condones nor uses Cookies. Declared or otherwise.

Secondly, to provide advertisers with far, far more effective results from their advertising, for a fraction of traditional advertising charges.

Mistral serves, mainly, engineers. Also educators, government bodies, RAC 'End Users' and building services consultants. Therefore mainly decision makers in the functions of specifying and purchasing.

Mistral software is used by many engineers constantly throughout the working day. Trade magazines do not and cannot possibly match this.

Trade publications typically charge £1,495 for a single month insertion of a quarter page printed advertisement in a monthly published magazine. So almost £18,000 per year!

Mistral will charge from just £600 to a maximum of £800 for annual display of a link to, if they wish, effectively an unlimited amount of advertising material.

The Trade magazine advertisement may or may not get seen by the majority of the target audience. Before being pulped or incinerated.

Mistral's advertisements connect decision makers to suppliers of products they need, when they need them. Effectively 24/7. Every day of the year. Every minute of the day. Yet these advertising links never get in the way of software functionality.

How could there be any reason for not doing this?

blue_star_24x24.gif Mistral's valued licenced software users gain tremendously useful information and purchasing routes right where and when they are needed.

blue_star_24x24.gif Advertisers reach far more of their targeted market place.

blue_star_24x24.gif For a small fraction of traditional advertising costs.

blue_star_24x24.gif Providing a simple and highly effective route to Internet On-Line purchasing pages. Something printed adverts can obviously never achieve.

blue_star_24x24.gif Mistral adds sufficiently to its revenue to help meet its operating costs. To continue providing the best and most popular RAC software in the world!

spacer_transparent.gif Advertising Tariff spacer_transparent.gif The lighter, brighter side

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