A position exists for a part-time support person at Production Assistant Software.

The position would suit a freelance or self employed I.T. professional based in Australia who has some experience of the Audio-Visual Hire & Production Industry. You will be expected to respond to support requests in a timely manor and to give accurate information to users of Production Assistant Software. While training will be given on the specific software systems used, it is expected that you should have a good working knowledge of Windows based computer systems and networks.

During the initial trial period you will be expected to provide between 2-4 hours of logged support per week. Hours and pay rates are negotiable after the initial trial period. Times are flexible but you must be able to provide at least half your weekly hours during Australian business hours. The rest of the time is at your convenience.

How to apply.

Please provide a brief resume of your experience and a short explanation of why you think you are suited to this position. Your application can be lodged by going to http://productionassistantsoftware.zendesk.com/ and filling in a support request with the title of “Support Position”. That’s the first test!

If you have questions or need more information go to the same link and enter them there.

Over the last few months support around here has been terrible and for that I apologize. It has been due to circumstances beyond my control and is still ongoing. Personal and Family health issues are very difficult for one person operations such as mine so I am taking immediate steps to improve the situation.

1. I will be employing a part time person to deal strictly with support issues. I’m looking for a freelance I.T. person who has some experience with the AV Production/Hire business and I’m hoping one of you may be able to recommend someone. If you know of a good I.T. professional that would like a few extra hours of work guaranteed each week then please see this post for more details. This should ensure much more timely responses to urgent issues.
2. I am switching from the current email based support system to a more forum based one from Zendesk. This should allow me to cut down massively on the amount of spam I am currently wading through in order to find real questions. It also allows solved issues to be publicly posted as “Solutions” which should cut down on some of the repetitive questions. This switch will take place this week but the old system will still be monitored for a little while yet. You will need to verify your email address the first time you enter a support ticket but that’s just to keep the spammers out.

The new address for reporting all issues & questions will be: http://productionassistantsoftware.zendesk.com/

Again, my apologies for the situation of late. It will be improved. Please let me know what you think of the new systems.

Cheers, Mark

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!

As of today the referral commission paid through our affiliate program will rise to 35%. Many of our new customers are coming from word of mouth recommendations these days so this is our way of saying thanks. It’s simple, it’s easy, it’s free to join and you make 35% of every new customer you refer! Find out more here

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.