Over the past six months or so a series of errors were reported which were eventually identified as relating to certain versions of Windows 7 & Vista. It proved very difficult to track down the actual source of the faults due to the slow take up of Windows 7 & Vista and the fact that it works on some peoples systems but not most.
A fix is now under development but is still some way off as this version needs a large re-write. Components quite central to the program such as the database engine and report writing system have had to be replaced which is a major job. As I said, development is underway and I will post progress notifications here as it progresses.
I would strongly recommend NOT moving to a Windows 7 or Vista based machine at this point without thoroughly testing on that machine first.
I understand this is a major issue and please rest assured that a fix is underway. My apologies to those who have been affected by this but please understand it is a result of changes made by Microsoft, not by me.
Work was underway on an online version of Production Assistant but this has been halted to make way for one more desktop based version which will be called V3.0. Once these latest issues are sorted, work will resume on the browser based version which will be largely immune from problems caused by new operating systems and will, of course, also run on Mac & Linux systems.
Thanks for your patience with this issue.
Cheers, Mark
I got an amazing email recently from Keith Wootton at AV1 in Sydney who casually mentioned that his team were using their Production Assistant installation via a remote desktop onto their iPhones. I simply had to know more and asked Keith for a few more details. He graciously decided to share his setup here as follows:
“Story:
Because we are Mac users, we were running PA2 on Windows Vista via Parallels on Mac. We also run Visio and Vivien for floorplans and design on Vista/Parallels. In addition to running PA2 on Parallels, we run it on two standalone PC laptops that sit in our office on the network and have their own IP addresses. This allows us to run PA2 remotely at faster speeds than using the server based system when we are on the road (we do a lot of roadshows). We have set up a secure VPN for this and for access to our server. We use to used Windows remote desktop within Parallels to control the PC’s until we
discovered that we could use RDC on Mac and control the PC. This also increased speed on our Mac laptops as they didn’t have to run Parallels.
The next logical step here, given that we also use iPhones was to download a remote desktop App for iPhone. We downloaded Remote Lite App for free and by connecting to our secure VPN via the iPhone, used the remote desktop app to control the PC and PA2 – PA2 on iPhone! We also run PA2 from a remote office at the MCA with a Vodafone USB modem, using the same protocol.
Flowcharts:
Office Scenario:
Apple iMac > Parralells > Windows Vista > Server > PA2
On the road scenario:
Apple Macbook Pro > Vodafone USB Modem > Connect to secure AV1 VPN > Start Apple RDC to PC in office > Start PA2
iPhone scenario:
iPhone > Settings > Turn on VPN > Open Remote Lite App > Connect to PC in office > Start PA2″
Wow! That is a brilliant setup and a very innovative answer to taking what would normally be an office based system onto the road. Thanks again to Keith and his team at AV1 for sharing this.
Production Assistant V2.4 was released today. It is a maintenance release that fixes a number of small bugs and changes a few internal structures to allow for future upgrades. Full release notes and downloads are available for registered users from their User Support page.
As of today there will be a price rise on all Production Assistant products. It’s been some time now since we’ve had a price rise and feel the time is now right to make a few changes. The biggest one will be lifetime licensing. What this simply means is that all purchases of Production Assistant now come with lifetime free upgrades. I think you’ll agree that this more than makes up for our modest price rise. Of course, all existing customers will be put onto this system as well.
The new pricing structure goes like so:
All prices in Australian dollars, +10% GST for Australian customers
- PA Single User – $697
- PA 3 User License $1397
- PA 5 User License $1997
- PA 10 User License $3397
- ***New*** PA 15 User License $4497
- Dashboard. $147
Don’t forget that those prices now include unlimited free version upgrades for life so Production Assistant is even better value now.
We also still have our 90 Day Guarantee. If you aren’t totally happy within 90 days, you’ll get your money back. No problem!
Are you using Production Assistant successfully on Windows Vista? PA has not been thoroughly tested on Windows Vista at this point but some users have reported the PA runs perfectly and some have reported problems.
If you are successfully using Vista & PA I’d love to hear from you. Likewise if you’ve tried it and had problems. Just drop me a quick email from here and I’ll be in touch
A Windows Vista compliant version is under development and is due for release in the second half of 2009. Until then it is recommended that you use PA with Windows XP as your OS.
It’s been a long time coming but I’ve finally moved this site over to a brand new theme, the amazing Thesis. I’m sure you’ll all enjoy the crisp, clean new look as well as a few new pages.
Stay tuned for even more fine tuning real soon.
Production Assistant V2.3.7 was released today. It is a maintenance release that fixes a number of bugs and adds a few new features. Full release notes and downloads are available for registered users from their User Support page.
I get many requests to provide training to various companies but due to geographical and time issues this is becoming increasingly difficult. In order to provide users with an adequate and ongoing training program, I have decided to develop a comprehensive online training course.
The delivery method will be via a self-paced, online learning environment and the course contents will contain:
- Interactive multimedia presentations & screen-casts.
- Worksheets in PDF & Word format.
- Audio files (podcasts).
- Forums for interacting with course teachers and other participants.
- Quiz’s & tests to gauge progress.
The outlines for the first courses are under development now and I would very much like to hear from you, the user, as to what you’d like to see in a training course. I’ve setup a very short survey here. Please take a minute to drop in and have your say. Give as much detail as you like and please pass the link for this survey around to all of the PA users in your company. The more users we hear from the better.
Thanks for your help, Mark Gibson
An update to the Archiving Utility is now available. This is a minor update, the main new feature being that you can now archive old projects of any status. Update now from the downloads page.
An Archiving Utility for Production Assistant was released today.
Over a period of time you will more than likely end up with quite a few projects in your database that you no longer need to keep at hand. Old Quotes, Cancelled projects and Completed projects for example. Eventually, as your database grows, this may lead to a slowing down of the system. The Archiver utility allows you to move selected old projects into an Archive thereby reducing the amount of records that the application needs to sort through. Records can also be retrieved from the archive and restored to the active database should you need to look over them.
As usual, you should always BACKUP your database BEFORE attempting any archiving. It is also recommended that you run the Data Maintenance Utility before archiving to ensure your data files are the correct version. It is also highly recommended that no copies of PA are running anywhere on your system so that the Archiver has exclusive access to your data files.
Download it now from the downloads page.
