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A Flippin Month!?!?!

Yikes, I knew it'd been a while, but I didn't think it'd been that long. Much has happened in the last month or so, so I'll just highlight the items of importance.

FieldNotes

FieldNotes Desktop is now in version 1.0.4b. This is (at least) two versions different than a month ago, and much has changed. There is support for imporing visits from and sending data to the handheld unit now. So far, once things are configured for the user, the process seems to work quite smoothly. There are also a series of new options for user preferences and other neat items as such. Probably the most important, though, is much better error-handling.
Pocket FieldNotes is also in an acceptable state. The two pieces 'talk' to each other (desktop and pocket), and that's clearly a Good Thing.
The project as a whole has shifted into a more serious marketing push. Once we get some serious feedback from our current beta testers, we will be ready to make some final adjustments to each piece and send out a real selling version.

78RPM to CD?

This was an interesting thing I got to work on -- and unique at the same time. I was asked if I could take a series of 78RPM records and make a single CD of the recording. This particular recording was of a couple's wedding service, which was 50 years and one week ago today. After tracking down a working turntable (which I was quite fortunate to find), it only took a few hours to bring something which had previously been unusable (the couple didn't have a working 78RPM turntable) back to life. Most importantly, it was enjoyed wholeheartedly.

House Hunting

As many people who know me already know by now, we're in the process of purchasing a house. Yes, the communal living and now apartment days are over...and it's time for another change (for many reasons).

We are in the process of actually obtaining a particular house several miles from town. If all goes well, sometime this summer we should be moving. Amongst other things, it's one of the reasons I've not been quite as available to write these things...but it's definitely been an exciting and educating process.

We'll see what happens with that.

PHP -- DEVELOPMENT!

I'm actually applying some of the PHP principles I was talking about a month ago in the last post. This has only really started within the last week, during which time I've started development of a new look for the website at work as well as some significant (in the backend, at least) features. More about this later, but so far it's going well.

Server Problems

Sadly, there was a really fatal server problem at work -- two drives died within a 24-hour period. frown

Fortunately, I had automatic backups in operation and was able to use them. Ironically enough, the servers' drives died within 36 hours of the backup operations (which was over the weekend), so literally no data was lost.

It has since been determined that a power problem is what caused the drive failures...and as an added measure (which had initially been put off) an UPS unit now protects the new drive in the server and also the network infrastructure in general.

Here again, another important reminder that power protection is key for any machine which is heavily relied upon.

Until Next Time...

...which hopefully is sooner than later...that's the major news from the front!

-- MattZaske - 15 May 2004

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