For obvious reasons (Facebook does a great job for blog purposes), we have moved the blog to our Facebook site. Join us at http://www.facebook.com/showorks for constant updates!

ShoWorks Nous 2012 is wrapping up! With just a little over a month left until the debut in Las Vegas, much is left on our plate. Marketing materials, presentations, and scheduling are all complete and waiting for the green light, but we have a few minor tweaks left in the software itself.

Something that seasoned customers will recognize this time is the absence of physical media in the packaging which is replaced with a download card with code. Don't worry - we'll still make CD-ROMs available upon request, however the advantages of downloading the full version from our website tackles two big issues we have had in the past. But first, let me assure you that cost is not one of them (the new download cards costs about the same as producing CD-ROMs). One issue that many customers have had (especially during office employee turnover) was losing their original CDs and end up having to wait for a new disc to be mailed to them. More importantly is the fact that CD-ROMs are usually published only once a year or so. A lot can change over this time with regards to the release of new operating systems (Windows 7 and Windows 8) and new software suites (such as Microsoft Office) that affect the way that ShoWorks installs. For example, the current ShoWorks 2009 CD-ROM will not install ShoWorks correctly if one is running Office 2010 because the CD was published prior to the Office 2010 release. Though the downloadable format will be our primary means of delivery in the upcoming version, we will still continue to honor the request of those customers needing a physical disc. It's just that we now are circumventing problems, with technology!

Oh, and by the way, for those paying attention to the new download card (image). You will need to wait to download 2012! Hope to see you in Vegas next month!

Looking at the results of the top 50 fairs in America, here are some nice facts when it comes to fairs that use ShoWorks versus all of our competition combined:

Of the top 50 fairs:

• More than half of the fairs use ShoWorks.
• The average growth (in attendence) of a ShoWorks ran fair is almost twice that of a non-ShoWorks ran fair (7% versus 4%).
• More people attended a ShoWorks ran fair last year than a non-ShoWorks fair.
• Of the top 12 fairs, ALL fairs that used ShoWorks (7 of them) grew in attendance, where as ALL except one, of the non-ShoWorks users dropped in attendance.

We know that our competition likes to use words like "leader" but figured that we'd take a different approach and actually use numbers.

/brag :) source: http://www.carnivalwarehouse.com/lists/2010list.pdf

I’m finally able to release information about some really cool features that will be available in the upcoming release of ShoWorks Nous. Some of this stuff is kept “hush” until the final release, but now that it’s public we can take a first look (see the full 4 page article in this month’s IAFE magazine or click here for the write-up): the iPad Companion and Division Update Wizard. Both of these tools should save users a lot of time. Today, it is common to see iPad’s in use all over the business world, such as assisting doctors’ in looking up their patient’s records, salespeople reviewing options for clients, coaches going over plays on game day, and the list goes on. What better match could judges find in placing entries or superintendents checking in entries than with ShoWorks and an iPad? Swiping ribbons or numbers to entries is just the tip of the iceberg and best yet, an Internet connection will not be required except when syncing the data to and from ShoWorks.

Another favorite tool of mine in the new version is the very powerful Division and Class Update Wizard. This tool began as a simple “mass update” tool to assist clerks in updating fields such as Entry Deadline, Entry Fee, or online entry field settings across many divisions at once. After careful thought and feedback from one of our fairs who visited onsite to provide some feedback in the initial stages, it was suggested that we expand on this idea to save even more time during the setup process of a fair. For example, you can now copy classes from one division to many others in one click, enabling you to use a “division template” as a basis to save time. Another helpful function is to “bump all years” among class descriptions. For example, a class description of “Heifers born between 6/15/2009 and 12/31/2009” would be automatically updated to “Heifers born between 6/15/2010 and 12/31/2010”. Classes across the entire database can be updated at once. Other features in this tool allows the renumbering of divisions and classes based on your sorting preference, even starting over at each division and adding leading zeros as needed. The end result is an extremely potent tool to make the setup process of your fair quick and easy.

It’s less than 100 days to launch!

• Class limits (preventing exhibitors from entering in more than allowed in a class).
• More preset reports (such as Back Tags, Buyer Cards, etc.) .
• Much needed stability and user-friendliness in backing up reports.
• Enhancement of tools (such as multiple column spreadsheet wizard, sale order wizard, etc.).
• Much easier and faster Find method in menus (for example, lookup exhibitors or buyers by their ID OR name OR…).
• More fields (Title, Tattoo, State Fair, etc.).
• More powerful sale tools such as buyer bumps, % sale adjustments, billing adjustments, etc.
• User accounts for ShoWorks (enable or restrict permissions for various parts of ShoWorks by user).
• Fewer clicks to perform given tasks.
• …and lots lots more!

Some really cool improvements on the platform that we are building the new ShoWorks version in, allow us the flexibility in UI (User Interface) that only previously was made available to a select few applications. One constraint we had in the past was screen real estate. Much of this was addressed in the release of ShoWorks 2009 where controls could “float” and “stretch” across the screen, freeing up much needed space for data.

This time, we are able to build on this concept by implementing jQuery and HTML components directly into the interface, something that before, was limited only to websites. Click the image above and experience a live mockup of the actual main menu.

It’s official! The next version of ShoWorks, code named “Nous” is on the drawing board. Details will unfold as development moves forward, but users can expect quite a few new features in the that didn’t make the cut in 2009 (due to a lack of time back then which would have kept us off schedule for the release).

”Nous” is a Greek term meaning intelligence, understanding, intuition, or my personal favorite common sense. We chose this name as we will be emphasizing an intuitive and common sense based interface in the new version. The more intuitive the tool that one works with, the easier it is for those who are affected by the tool - the fair staff, exhibitors, and even us that support it!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Though many fairs are active this weekend, some of us have a quick break from the busy season. A lot of things have been going on in the past month.

We have released 12.6 of ShoWorks 2009 this month. This update (available from our downloads link to everyone) includes a few enhancements that many will find useful in the future, if not immediately. First, it allows the importing of 4-H records from 4HOnline and judging results from online judging of media entries (digital photography, videos, art). Another nice feature is the ability for club leaders to approve and verify entries made online under their club by logging into the online entry site as a club. Finally, the new patch makes ShoWorks compatible with the new Microsoft Office 2010 that was released this month, allowing full operation with both Microsoft Access 2007 and the new Microsoft Access 2010.

I would like to take the time to remind users to submit suggestions for the next big version of ShoWorks. While we have well over a year left in the current cycle, now is the best time to speak out on what features you would like to see in the software that would make your life easier in fair record keeping. Submit your suggestions to suggestions@fairsoftware.com While we cannot promise that all ideas are put into the new version, I can hint that in the past, most of them usually do arrive in the software if they are possible. Let's hear some big ideas!

I'd like to give a quick "thank you" to the counties in Iowa who joined in another state wide adoption of ShoWorks.  This was kicked off today in a joint, multi-state collaborative effort spearheaded by the 4HOnline community. At this meeting, state 4-H leaders from several states (Arkansas, California, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Texas, and Washington), 4HOnline and I met to detail out the future of how ShoWorks will serve the 4-H state and national demands on reporting. My thanks to each of the members in attendance today.

Another announcement is our online photography (and other multi-media such as video and music) system opened live this month, accepting entries and their uploaded files from two of the top 25 fairs in the nation (San Diego and Alameda counties). We are putting a great deal of our eggs into this technology basket as we see more and more exhibitor interests turning towards digital photography, videography and more. When a simple cell phone has the capacity and quality of a comparable high-end digital camera just 5 years ago, expect to see the exhibits in this area flourish. ShoWorks not only now allows the uploading of digital files, but the online judging and results downloading. Interested in capturing your next generation audience? Give us a holler.

Another great trade show season has come to an end. Today we wrapped up the Western Fairs Association (WFA) Convention in Reno with a good response to the new features we have added to ShoWorks such as seamless integration with 4H Online and online media uploading and judging. Look for these components to play a key role in the upcoming years as fairs adapt to the changing exhibitor base.

In other news, we are happy to announce that we will be moving into our new offices this weekend. Over the past couple of months during the off season, we have been anxiously awaiting the new space along with upgraded hardware/wiring. Our address will soon be 40 miles south to the big city of College Station, TX – home of Texas A&M University. Lots of wonderful memories were made in the small town of Calvert and we’ll miss the rural atmosphere but the infrastructure and resources available in our new location will add value to our growing business. For those of you who have blessed us with this growth – a big Thank You! Come and see us!

For the second year in a row, Gladstone Inc. (ShoWorks) has been distinguished among a privileged group of the top 100 fastest growing companies in the world lead by Texas A&M alumni. This measures compounded annual growth of revenues over a two year period. This month we celebrated our second award in style at the Zone club of Kyle Field (Texas A&M Stadium). More about this event can be found at www.aggie100.com

In other news, we are currently in Las Vegas at the 2009 IAFE (International Association of Fairs and Expos) Convention. If you or your fair staff is attending, be sure to drop by our booth to say hello. We are again a proud sponsor of the event and always look forward to providing workshops and insights with your fair staff in person at such a nice time of year in the desert! Mention this blog when you stop by and receive a free ShoWorks 2009 Training Video (available for in-person booth visits please!)

Blog followers may recall that a few months back, Microsoft extended an invitation to have ShoWorks presented to the masterminds of the Microsoft Office Access Team - the platform on which ShoWorks is built on. This month, they unveiled a new video series on the Channel 9 network called "The Access Show" in which key Microsoft personnel discuss the impact Microsoft Access makes in the world.

A nice mention at the first part of the video was made by Clint Covington (Senior Lead Program Manager of Microsoft Access) on how ShoWorks is driving the fair industry with Access. This episode, also co-hosted with Ryan McMinn (Program Manager) has great insight on how the new Microsoft Access is changing the way the world uses desktop databases. Check out the video here.  I'd like to say thanks to these two guys. They are not only an asset to both Microsoft and us developers, but genuinely caring and dedicated to a good cause.

I'd also like to take a moment to say thanks to a very special person who probably prefers no recognition. For many years, I have known Michael Searle as a ShoWorks user, fair manager, and friend. Michael (and his wife Karen) have managed and coordinated ShoWorks at the Maricopa Fair, Southern California Fair, and Arizona State Fair. As president of the Arizona Fairs Association, I have seen him extend care and generosity over countless people in our industry and I am among many who hold him in high regard and think of him often when someone asks me about people in the fair industry. Well, a few weeks ago, Michael solved for us two very annoying and elusive bugs that have been haunting ShoWorks 2009 for a few select users. They are what I would say, the final two things that we just could not consistently reproduce and as such, were unfixable until we could do so on our end. These two items were:

1. "runtime" errors at random parts of the program.
2. Not being able to re-open or edit a custom report without exiting ShoWorks or renaming the report.

After months of not being able to reproduce this on our end, Michael reported the methods to reproduce these issues and as a result, we are nailing them away in the next update to be released in a few days. Yes, all multifaceted software will have at least a "bug" or two in its release year, but what a way to complete the cycle by tying up, what I would refer to as, the remaining two loose ends! Thanks Michael!

Two topics take the spotlight on this month's blog: Online entries and our latest update patch.

Online Entries

We are in the home stretch for the fair season.  Many counties have completed their fair year with outstanding turnouts (see last month's blog post).  We have also seen an exceptional year with regards to fairs making the switch to online entries.  With more than half of the nation's fairs abandoning paper for the time-saving, online entries (yes - even the smallest and most rural fairs with under 100 entries), our online processing has grown to over $8 million this year with 500 fairs (491 to be exact).  Though I hesitate to do yet another brag post, I wanted to share with the fairs, the experience their fairgoers and exhibitors had from entering their fair online.  The results below illustrate the satisfaction rate across over 40,000 exhibitors this year nation-wide, taken in a survey given to them upon completed submission of their entries online.

I'm proud to highlight the tiny 3% dissatisfaction rate that we have managed to bring down a little from 3.5% last year (which is still quite small). 5 out of 6 exhibitors and visitors say the ShoWorks process is either "great" or "good", and the 1 who isn't in this group is at least "okay" with it.  So why the hesitation for you fairs holding off, especially when it saves so much time and trouble and already built in to ShoWorks?

PS - for you fairs who have or are currently taking online entries through ShoWorks, feel free to give us a shout and we can filter the results out for your own fair and gladly share them with you to prove to your board members the effectiveness of this great cost-saving tool.

Update 12.4 released

As common during new release years, we have had several updates to the new ShoWorks 2009.  This includes 3 significant updates over the year with a few minor, non-critical ones posted in between.  This latest update patch (more information here) has captured quite a few goodies and fixes that were long overdue.  This new version is almost 1-year-old and we feel that it is finally stabilizing to a point where we have released 12.4 (download it here).  It's a good build.  I normally refrain from making predictions but as a product manager and programmer, I have learned to have a feel for these things.

-Mike

An article on MSNBC last week highlighted the fact that in times of economic recession, Americans flock to the local fair, with many fairs churning up record breaking business - despite the lull in other industries. The term "staycation" is being used for those dollar conscious families who set their sights on entertainment and recreation a little closer to home during the summer months.

The article highlights fairs that are doing great and those not doing so great during these hard times. Whether ShoWorks is one cause of a successful fair or just plain successful fairs recognize the value of information management, can be left up to your interpretation but we were glad to see that of all fairs mentioned that are doing great are ShoWorks customers. Of the fairs not doing so well this year and last, none are using ShoWorks.

So fair season is once again in its prime and we are busy these days. Many of you may have caught the new advertisement running in the IAFE magazine for online photo uploading and judging. This new addition to the ShoWorks online family allows photography exhibitors to upload their photographs online and the judges to pre-judge or fully judge these immediately from the convenience of their home. As the interest and demand for digital photography grows, we expect to see a high usage of this feature. Contact us for more details.

For those that are about to engage in their fair over the next month, we wish you the best of weather!

It’s been quite a week so far. The folks at Microsoft heard about ShoWorks and called me up for an onsite visit to Redmond, WA and demo to the Microsoft Access team and provide ideas for future versions of this wonderful product of the Microsoft Office family. I have to say, it was quite an honor to present ShoWorks to the original 20+ product managers, designers, developers of Access. For those unaware, ShoWorks is built on a Microsoft Access platform. I personally compare this to one who designed a light saber and being invited to Coruscant to present it to Yoda and the Jedi council.

What a great reception and approval these masters laid upon ShoWorks! Even more exciting is the fact that this presentation of ShoWorks was done in the upcoming Microsoft Access 2010 (release date maybe this year if not early next year). Being able to dive into the next version of Access and play around with the new technologies was great. I’m under an NDA, but I can say that it will be a revolutionary move in the future of how we think of the desktop database and a new approach to those who currently would not use Access. Wow.

This month we welcome two state-wide adoptions of the ShoWorks system. It's exciting to have the new ideas and experience coming from different shores of the US. To all of the fairs involved, including the state and counties of Wyoming who also adopted ShoWorks last year, and of course, our long-time customers in the states in between, I want to say on behalf of our staff, a big THANK YOU for your business! We look forward to you having a great fair season and us serving you this year.

I also want to thank the New York State Fair for hosting the IAFE Spring Conference earlier this month, where we were welcomed by a well educated audience to learn about ShoWorks and the online segment of fairs. The northern hospitality was at its finest!

In other news, expect to see a unique roll-out in the upcoming months regarding a new ShoWorks product line that is almost complete. More information is to follow...(sorry about the teaser!).

- Mike

On this day in 1996, I founded this company. However, the story behind ShoWorks begins two years prior, in 1994, while I was working as an assistant in the district headquarters of the Texas Agricultural Cooperative Extension. I was approached one day by the chairman of the local county fair (Rusk County), who needed a better way of managing records for the fair. By searching the globe using a new technology they called the Internet, I was able to track down only one possible solution. After a quick phone call and a demo disk from an archaic DOS software program made by a small company in Wisconsin, I was convinced that the fair industry had a need for a Windows application (a new technology at the time) that was easy-to-use, affordable, and provided service as if they didn’t have a monopoly on the fair software industry. ShoWorks 1.0 was born.

Through the years, ShoWorks has been rewritten twice from the ground up, with a total of 6 major versions. Looking back, I’m personally amazed that we made it past version 1.0 – since, it was quite buggy and cumbersome. I vividly recall, driving down to Bell County, Texas to present ShoWorks to our first paying customer. That was our worst month in sales (1 unit sold) and the rest is history. In order to boost the confidence of potential customers, we offered a money back guarantee, no questions asked. Four fairs called our hand and it was a great learning experience to roll out our second version called ShoWorks 98. Eventually, those 4 customers returned after we released better versions of the software – a great feeling. ShoWorks 98 was revolutionary at the time because it introduced online entries (something that wouldn't be copied by anyone else for several years later). Though the fair industry was not ready for the ability to take entries over the Internet in 1998, we placed our bets on what things would be, rather than what they were. After all, we had seen our competitor making mistakes of being reactive in the market (staying in DOS versus Windows) rather than proactive and we made it a driving principle to not let this happen to us.

People may not realize that the core of ShoWorks until just last year remained the same base code as ShoWorks 98. Similar to how Windows 95 held its breath with smaller revisions until Windows Vista, ShoWorks 98 was simply “improved” through versions 2000, 2003, and 2006. It wasn’t until the current version, ShoWorks 2009, which we were able to take advantage of the latest technology and software platforms to do what we have always wanted to do. Thus, ShoWorks 2009 was our third major write.

I can now honestly say something that I haven’t been able to say in over 15 years – ShoWorks is complete. But before reading into this, let me define what “complete” means – at least to us. It does not mean “finished”, but ever since version 1.0, there was a frequent discomfort that resulted from limitations of development tools we had available. We wanted to take the software to a level we were proud of. Now before arrogance gets the best of us, we are by all means not implying that a new version is not in the works with improvements. Rather, I’m saying that ShoWorks has finally reached a level of maturity that we can now focus our development efforts on broadening the scope of fair management software. For example, in the past few months, we have expanded the marriage of ShoWorks to the Internet beyond just online entries, into the areas of online auction payments, online ticketing, online RV and camping space reservations, online judging for photography and media exhibits, and online gathering of feedback for your fair through customized surveys, and more. With economic concerns of our customers, clearly our focus is meeting the efficiency demands of the current market that will carry the fair into the next generation.

Though we have been around over 15 years, in some ways, we have only just begun!

Mike

The ShoWorks 2009 Training Videos are complete!

Just in time for the busy fair season! We packed all tips and tricks into an 8-hour comprehensive set that is guaranteed to please. Over 500 topics have been broken down into 7 easy chapters, well indexed and easily searchable to find just the hint that you were looking for. Follow-along with an expert to easily setup your premiums or find out how to quickly place items and generate that perfect report.

Most topics range from 15 seconds to 10 minutes and can be played from within ShoWorks or stand-alone. See our video page for more information and to take advantage of the special pricing through May 29th.

After a quick ShoWorks auction workshop in San Diego, CA, our touring continued with an opening session yesterday at the Oklahoma Association of Fairs & Festivals Convention in Tulsa. Rarely do we have the privilege to open the activities in such a way and it was good to have the longest allotted time to cover everything from the basics to what's new on the Internet side of ShoWorks. Just a few more stops before the travel season ends.

A couple of new items are on the list for release in the upcoming weeks. Those fairs with a livestock auction will be pleased to know that billing your buyers has just gotten easier. Now, your buyers can conveniently pay their bills online with just two clicks by both check (e-check) and credit cards. With paper billing falling the way of the dinosaur, your fair can easily click to e-blast your buyers a reminder to just click-and-pay their auction purchases in a snap!

And next month, the new ShoWorks 2009 Training Videos will be released. If we have your email address, you will shortly be receiving a nice pre-order discount offer. Stay tuned...

As I write this entry in Bloomington, MN, just 4 feet away lies the hotel room wall that separates me from a temperature outside at -28 degrees F.  In case you didn't notice, that's a "minus" sign in front of the "28".  And in case you also didn't notice, that does not even count the wind chill which will be -50F in the morning.  To put this in perspective, -28F is colder than most days in Antarctica.  It is also warmer on the summit of Mt. Everest than it is here.  If you check the weather website, even the northmost tip of Alaska in the arctic circle will be warmer tonight than it is where our vehicle is parked.  For grins, I did take a cup of hot water outside to throw it up in the air to make snow/ice. What fun for a Texan. 

But the cold isn't keeping us from burning up the roads on the state and regional conventions this January and February.

Yesterday we finished up a record attendance trade show with two sessions at the Wisconsin Fairs Convention.  Today we are in Minnesota to deliver three workshops on ShoWorks and online entries.  There is one more month of conventions to wrap up the travel season.  Contact us to inquire about our next workshop at your state convention or to schedule a virtual training from the comfort of your warm office over the Internet.  The fair season is cranking up in the south and we have a great year to look forward to!

This New Year brings a lot of new changes to ShoWorks.  Other than the new Apeiron, we also (in case you haven't noticed) overhauled the company website.  We tried to make the site easier for new users to find what they are looking for.  Current ShoWorks users should be pleased to find that they can login at the top of any page (using their Service Plan Number) and this will be remembered each time they visit the site without having to login each subsequent visit.

Why login?  Many of you know that your messages to us sent through the Contact Us page are expedited when using a Service Plan Number.  When this is used, messages not only are posted where a technician checks for new messages daily, but a message sent with a Service Plan additionally goes to all email inboxes and our BlackBerry devices (cell phones) where we are notified immediately.  Another perk of logging in is that you can now download the full version of ShoWorks directly from the downloads page.

Most importantly, beginning this spring, logged in visitors will also have access to the ShoWorks Users Discussion Forum.  This public posting site will allow ShoWorks users across the nation to meet, share, assist and collaborate with other fairs who use ShoWorks.  We are really looking forward to this feature.

In the meantime, I hope that you have had a happy welcome to 2009!

What a great show!

As most have heard through the news, Las Vegas had an unusual heavy snow that hasn't been seen there in over 30 years. Most of us had to stay (unfortunately - wink wink) an extra day due to the closing of the airport. But one thing was certain, ShoWorks 2009 was delivered and will be home for Christmas for hundreds of fairs. We at ShoWorks want to thank all of you for attending the launch event. According to the IAFE polls after the event, we are extremely proud that the ShoWorks 2009 launch session was the best rated workshop in the history of all workshops at the IAFE Convention! Thank you for your comments and feedback and I hope that you enjoy the software!

I will close for now, with nothing but one week of true relaxation ahead to spend with my family for Christmas. May good tidings come your way for a blessed Merry Christmas to all from the ShoWorks staff!

ShoWorks Apeiron 2009 has gone "gold"!  This term refers to the master copy CD that will be used to replicate thousands of CD-ROM copies.

The process involves making a glass mold from the master CD (made with a gold film, hence the "gold" reference) that was burned in our office using a regular CD burner.  This glass master copy (used because of its hardness) is used as a stamping plate, much like a printing press, to stamp the impression of data bits onto metal foil.  The metal foil is then trimmed into a circle shaped disc and coated with clear plastic. This is referred to as CD-ROM Replication and different than what most of you will know as CD-R Duplication burning which is done in short runs and not as reliable as CD-ROMs.

We expect the first shipment of CD-ROMs to arrive on December 9th.  Unfortunately there is no rest in the meantime.  The ShoWorks Web is being outfitted with a few minor features to adhere to the new version of ShoWorks.  I'll post a follow-up after the launch event in Vegas!

Things are coming together as the ShoWorks 2009 release quickly approaches just one month away.  One of the pleasures I have come to highlight in a release year is the shinny new marketing products that seem to arrive daily.  Today, over 300lbs of product packaging arrived for the new software.  I have to say, despite the unimportance of packaging, these new CD-ROM packs are pretty slick looking and more extensive than we have done in the past.  I hope you will feel the same, though again, our focus is certainly what's inside the package.

A second BIG THANK YOU to all the Beta Testers!

A quick update on the release. Beta testing has gone well and just in the past month, a great deal has been accomplished as we move towards a full release candidate (I will make a few specific comments about what the beta testers have said in a couple paragraphs). If things continue this smoothly, we might see an early release to those who have pre-ordered, but December 15th in Las Vegas - Paris, is the official place to be for the "ShoWorks 2006 Launch Party". Contact the IAFE or us for details. I want to thank all of the beta testers who have spent countless hours providing feedback and improving the new version. Our confidence in the stability of this release is solely a result of your efforts.

As December approaches, our work is steered towards documentation and the new training videos which need to be completed by the end of November in order to have them included on the same disc as the program. The videos when complete, should total approximately 7 -8 hours in length and broken down into well indexed segments as we did in the 2006 videos.

Comments from Beta testing have been overwhelmingly positive, especially since we made minor modifications to make the new version feel and operate more like the past versions of ShoWorks. This means an easier transition for fairs that are comfortable with the way things are now. The tricky part has been to provide the familiarity for the seasoned ShoWorks users without compromising the direction that our goals demanded in making the new version better than before. In a nutshell, the new version needed to appeal to the old and new users, small and large fairs, and livestock and non-livestock fairs. I think we have accomplished this.

We'll see you in Vegas!

Finishing touches are being made to ShoWorks Apeiron almost constantly as we approach a release. Though the public release date is not until December 15th, 2008 (at the IAFE Convention in Las Vegas), we finally have a target Beta release scheduled for September 2nd. In the meantime, here's a glimpse of the Main Menu.

We have been asked by many fairs recently to be beta testers. While our goal is to have as much testing as possible, we had to close/limit the testing fairs to a manageable size.

I have been asked on more than one occasion how to pronounce and the definition of the code name for ShoWorks 2009 titled "Apeiron". Pronounced "ah - PAY - ron", it is a greek term meaning infinity, boundless, or without limits. We have a little humor around here that this is how we look at the workload we have undertaken in producing the new version. For me personally, the laborious programming hours, combined with sleepless nights up with my newborn son of 5 months, seem very fitting! (in case the time stamp of this blog isn't a dead giveaway)

ShoWorks Off-site Backup Service (SOS-BS)

One of the promising new features in ShoWorks Apeiron is the automated backup process. One should nevermore be absent of a backup because the new version will detect (based on your preference) when a backup needs to be made and automate this with only one click to confirm. Better yet, if you are connected to the Internet, ShoWorks will optionally make a backup to our secure servers, allowing you the peace of mind that your data is protected off-site. Don't worry, if you do not have an Internet connection, a local backup is made and may be restored even in the absence of a connection. Again, this is very intuitive and simple and requires only one click. Did I mention that this service is free of charge? :)

QuickBooks™ compatibility

We have revised the QuickBooks integration for more flexibility. Not only can you now choose what data you want to export to QuickBooks, but you can now reference the name of your checking accounts to tie in with the bank checking account names that you have given to QuickBooks.

On a side note, we expect to have a beta out in just a few weeks more. Those watching this blog will say that this is about 1 month behind. We are dedicated towards releasing a stable beta product and this has taken precedence to our clean record of no delays.

All in all, the software is "done" and what remains now are security and platform integration. Hopefully the next post will have an exact beta release date!

Oh, a quick update that someone reminded me about: The slow load time when others are using ShoWorks on the network is a thing of the past. Load time is virtually zero, regardless of how many people are in ShoWorks and how many menus they have open.  In somewhat related matters, you can now make backups, save your files, etc. even if you have menus open or with users in your data file.  All of this means you no longer have to holler down the hall for others to exit to the main menu when you want to do something :)

A common request over the years has been an easier way to manage, organize and share reports. The new Report Manager in ShoWorks Apeiron has, like all other menus, been rebuilt from the ground up. As mentioned in earlier posts, the new report format allows for grouping of your custom reports. The image to the right (click) shows how you can drag-and-drop reports into your own custom groups. Taking this a step further, you can highlight a group and export, backup, delete, etc. all reports in that group with one click.

There are three short features I’d like to showcase on the new Apeiron. The first is a simple, yet effective navigation tree for quickly finding records in the divisions menu. Rather than multiple drop-down lists for searching by division, number, or department, we have changed to a tree view. Clicking on a department folder expands to show the divisions under it including the total entries in each division. Click on a division to go to that division, double-click a division to then see all of the entries under that division (and even edit these entries).

Another feature that has been refined is the Quick Entries menu (which has been very popular in ShoWorks 2006). We have made some pleasant refinements. First, you now go straight to the list of entries in one click from the Quick Entries drop-down. An important feature is that this screen now scales so you can drag to resize the form to fit your full screen, allowing you to see many records at once. Another nice touch is that when you add new entries from this screen, the division field will default to whatever division you have filtered – allowing you to create entries very fast. Further, we have added all fields to the Quick Entries and allow you to move all fields and resize their column widths with a simple drag of the mouse!

The last feature I want to mention is the overhauling of custom reporting in ShoWorks. The new platform offers many benefits such as creating your own groups to organize your custom reports, better formatting options, and more reliable importing/exporting. For those who have exported reports to Microsoft Excel and noticed that the export was not the cleanest, you will now be pleased to find exporting to Excel is “perfect and organized” the way one would expect. All of these report features do however come at a price, as the downside is that your old custom reports (in ShoWorks 2006) will not transfer to the new Apeiron. This was a tough decision to make, but we felt that clinging on to the old format only to allow for salvaging your old reports would come at a cost of hindering more flexibility in the end. This is bad news for those with many reports they have made over the years, but we hope that these users see the more positives of the new format. Even though reports will not transfer to the new version, your data (divisions, classes, exhibitors, entries, etc.) will still transfer into the new format.

We are drawing near to a beta release. There is not a set date at this time though mid July looks promising. For those keeping up with numbers, only 74 out of 951 total work items remain and these will be checked off fairly fast!

While work continues on the dialog portion (tools) of Apeiron, I'd like to show off an enhanced feature that will make multi-user management of records much easier for those not using a network.  Many users have expressed the need for an easy way to "merge" data from one computer to another, say for example when one person has a copy of the data file and are adding new entries or even updating judging results (or any field for that matter) for existing entries or exhibitors.  Prior to Apeiron, this has meant an almost precarious method of carefully deleting existing records with other work-arounds.  With the new "import and merge" wizard, updating, merging and importing records from another ShoWorks data file is a snap.  ShoWorks will compare your file with the other and take only changes including additions and updates based on the most recent record modified.  Click the above image to see a sample.

As we go through each tool (helpful wizards, etc.) we are meticulously improving the code and catching long overdue needed fixes to make a much cleaner, stable experience for the end-user.  This process is tedious and more importantly, requires testing to a degree than we have never before committed to so much.  While it's a lot of work, it adds to our excitement to the new release just months away.

A major milestone has been achieved in ShoWorks Apeiron. Reconstruction of all of the major menus (interface menus for entries, exhibitors, clubs, buyers, sale, check register, etc.) are complete and we now are moving on to the phase of rebuilding minor interface items such as wizards, dialogs, etc. This stage should be completed by the next blog post and we can finally direct the attention to the new mechanics such as file management, online backups, etc. We are still on track for a beta release in June or possibly July.

Apeiron coding is moving along on schedule, however I thought I would supplement this blog with a brief diversion.

For many years, our very own Jen T aylor has been the lovely voice behind our demo videos and telephone prompts when you call our office. Many people would never guess that she is now actually quite famous. Jen is mostly recognized as the voice of Cortana in the widely popular Halo trilogy of Xbox video games, as well as Princess Peach in the line of Nintendo Mario games. In addition to being a celebrity in the video game world, Jen recently held the starring role in the motion picture thriller “Inheritance” and the upcoming film “Taos” to hit theaters later this year. In the midst of her rise to fame, she has been wonderful to work with.

I’d like to include a few outtakes of her work with ShoWorks that you may find entertaining, which illustrates how our jobs can also be “fun”. Below are a few audio clips of Jen’s ShoWorks video work:

• nounderstand.mp3
• waterloo.mp3

As development continues on the new ShoWorks Apeiron, I'd like to take a moment to mention a laborious part of the work that most users will 1) not notice 2) not understand and 3) not initially care about.  However, I said "most" because there are some that will certainly understand and appreciate especially after hearing how this impacts the software.  I am talking about cleaning up the code.  Clean code means a more stable, efficient, faster, and easier (on our part) to maintain program.

While this is a subject that others prefer to keep behind company doors, I feel it important to illustrate the seriousness we are taking on building a stable and robust system unlike any predecessor.  Prior to Apeiron, ShoWorks had a large amount of code that was well over 10 years old (dating back to ShoWorks 1998).  Though the code seemed to get the job done, it had gathered quite a bit of modification over the years, leading to unnecessary overhead, potential for bugs, and a mess to maintain.  Case in point:  The entries menu in ShoWorks 2006 had almost 3,000 lines of code to process just this single menu.  Compare this to the entries menu in the new Apeiron, having only 178 lines of code to do the same tasks, plus new features such as the ability to customize the fields in the menu.

Be careful not to mistake less lines of code for less power.  Programming today (especially with Microsoft's latest development tools) has evolved into better methods to call processes with fewer lines of code - and of course, we have learned a few tricks over the years.  I can't express the excitement we nerds feel when we are able to strip out old, inefficient code.  If you aren't able to relate to this specifically, try to think of cleaning out your fair office and starting fresh with new furniture and fixtures.

In a nutshell, we are cleaning house!

Let’s take a more detailed look at getting around in ShoWorks Apeiron. If there has been any consistent comment from fairs when hearing about a new version, it has been “don’t make the program more difficult or complex”. Our goals have always been based on our three pillars of User Interface design:

1. Make the interface easy, simple, non-intimidating, and recognizable to the basic user. In other words, don’t make a person have to “think” to understand how to use the software.
2. Make interaction with the interface and user quick, with the fewest clicks possible to achieve a given action. In other words, don’t make a person have to “work” to do a simple task such as breaking classes or writing checks.
3. Make the interface comprehensive. In other words, make the interface adapt to the various types of users who will be working with the software – powerful for the experienced and basic for the beginner.

At first glance, one would say that these three statements are conflicting and indeed they can pull in opposite directions. I think we have all seen many software products have potential but fail because weaknesses in one or more of these three pillars. You can have a great, powerful product that only the nerds can figure out but if your target audience is not nerds, then your product is dead in the water. The same would go for a simple product but with very little depth to allow the users to get what they need done.

Enough theory! Let’s take a look at what this means for ShoWorks. Apeiron will rely on a new component developed by Microsoft called the “Ribbon”. This replaces the traditional toolbar and pull-down menus with a broader, graphical, button arrangement that changes to match what screen the user might be on. Think of the old pull down menus as 2-dimensional and the new ribbon as a 3-dimensional.

Screenshots (click each one to view):

• The Home tab is where to reach the menus, but also includes a few common related actions. Notice the “supertip” which are detailed descriptions when the mouse is hovered over buttons.
• The Records tab is displayed while menus are open.
• The Tools tab.
• The Reports tab. Notice that we can now group reports (even custom reports!).
• The Help tab.

Now before you say that these don't appear much different than typical toolbars, consider the Delete button as an example (click the "Records" link above). If I wanted to delete a single record I would click the Delete button, however if you notice this button also has a little arrow at the end of it. By clicking and holding the Delete button, I am now able to do different things related to deleting, such as, delete all records in one click! Don't worry, there are measures in place to make sure you don't accidently delete all records.

Before closing and in unrelated matters, I’d like to also mention that we finally have done away with a very annoying pest that's haunted ShoWorks for 14 years. ShoWorks Apeiron will now allow apostrophes everywhere in the program. So names like O’Brien can be used instead of Obrien.

I am posting a short, 8 minute video of a preview of ShoWorks Apeiron showing how menus can be tailored to fit. This video has two parts that illustrate 1) the new Entries menu and how it can be customized for easier/faster data entry and 2) the new Exhibitors menu and how entries can now be entered directly though this menu. Remember, things may change as we have a long way to go before the release. Your feedback is welcome.

Click here to go to the video.

In other news, I (Mike Hnatt) just became a dad last week as Coulter “Colt” Michael Hnatt was being born. This is great stuff! Here’s a photo of the little guy less than 1 day old.

Over the years, new fields were added to ShoWorks to accommodate needs, such as fields for tracking wine entries, EPDs for livestock, dairy production, etc. About 90% of fairs have never used 90% of the fields in ShoWorks, yet, have to sort through these when making reports, and worse yet, cluttering the screen. The screen clutter has been resolved in the new version with customized screens/menus (more on this later). We are solving the need for more fields by adding lots of new, user defined fields – 71 to be exact. Fairs can now create their own field names and only display fields that they want. These new user defined fields consist of text, number, lists, check boxes, dates, and currency and will be found in entries, exhibitors, and buyers menus. Want to keep track of a kid’s choice of shirt size? No problem, create a list field with values “Small, Medium, Large, X-L” and call it “Shirt Size”.

Adding 71 new fields takes up a significant amount space. There are physical limits on the number of fields in any given table or query in a database (255 fields is the max). With ShoWorks already nearing the limit, we are having to eliminate some existing fields to make room. Don’t worry. If you used some of these in the past that will no longer be available, you will now just simply create your own from the new user defined fields. Here’s a link to the fields that will be made “legacy” (removed). In addition, any custom reports that you have based on these legacy fields will need revised in the new program.

Though we are dropping a few, rarely used fields, we are adding lots more flexibility in the program. On a side note, we are going through each part of the program, line by line, cleaning up the order of fields that have long been “messy” over the years to have consistency throughout the program (for example, the order of fields in a drop-down when making a report). If you don’t understand what I’m talking about, just know this – you can expect a lot cleaner and more organized program.

Total items on the "to do" list : 951

• 87 of 951 are bug fixes from ShoWorks 2006, the remaining 864 are enhancements and new features.
• 594 of the 951 have been "completed" (sounds like a lot, but these were the 'easy' ones), the remaining 357 will take the bulk of the work to complete.

Though our target release date is 12/15/08 (and we have never missed a target date), we do plan on releasing the beta version sometime this summer (as early as May or June).  Beta testers are welcome.  Not only can beta testing be quite fun and rewarding, it allows you to have close contact in the development process with your ideas and feedback contributing directly to ShoWorks!  Beta testing is limited to only a handful of fairs.  Contact us if you are interested.

• Screenshot exhibitors0124i.png
  You will notice that you can "customize" the menu (add, remove, rename, and "move" fields around).
• Screenshot exhibitors0124e.png
  The new spreadsheet view allows you to not only skip around among exhibitors but add entries directly from the exhibitors menu.