Comments on: A first impression of Accutrack 8 http://www.techcenterblog.com/blog/453/ This blog explores the use of technology in academic support services centers Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:33:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Al Brown http://www.techcenterblog.com/blog/453/comment-page-1/#comment-985 Al Brown Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:05:56 +0000 http://www.techcenterblog.com/blog/?p=453#comment-985 Thanks for your comment. I'll take a look and update. In general what has been entirely mystifying to me is the extent of the distortion field within this sector, wherein horrible interface, atrocious customer services and absolutely third rate programming are not only tolerated but lauded as exceptional because it totally didn't hose your data. I keep saying, and I do not know why I am in the minority in this, that (1) both companies need an Android and iOS app, (2) a report out feature equal to the quality of iWorks numbers, (3) seamless interface that looks and performs as does any modern day software suite produced by Apple or MicroSoft and (4) a developer API. Ask yourself, how much per year do you pay to use MicroSoft Office. I bet nothing, whereas there is a yearly fee attached to these programs well into the several hundreds. Think back to the incredulity and rage people felt with the iPhone antennae issue. Imagine, people were incensed that they couldn't hold their phones in a manner that they wouldn't have thought to prior to being told that they couldn't. Now Apple was responsible for their anger by creating an expectation that only exceptional would do. Think about what a third of this expectation from scheduling software customers and what a culture of exceptionalism from developers could generated in a years time. What we have instead is exceptional is the exception and I have not seen it to date. Neither of these programs are good enough yet and it's only when enough customers realize how little you actually get for what you invest or when there is a suitable competitor will things change. The first Apple computers shipped 35 years ago. Had they followed a similar trajectory to what's being tolerated here, Jobs might only now be moving out of his mom's garage. I have in my pocket the equivalent computing power of what fifty years ago was a supercomputer and as a tutor I can't check within 30 seconds who I'm supposed to be meeting with right now. Unacceptable. Sorry, but I'm taking no prisoners on this. The solution won't be easy but the staring point is obvious. Hire a front end developer and web designer. Programmers aren't usually trained or equipped to do either. They have different priorities and skill sets but all three are needed to make a quality product and to tell the story. Thanks for your comment. I'll take a look and update. In general what has been entirely mystifying to me is the extent of the distortion field within this sector, wherein horrible interface, atrocious customer services and absolutely third rate programming are not only tolerated but lauded as exceptional because it totally didn't hose your data. I keep saying, and I do not know why I am in the minority in this, that (1) both companies need an Android and iOS app, (2) a report out feature equal to the quality of iWorks numbers, (3) seamless interface that looks and performs as does any modern day software suite produced by Apple or MicroSoft and (4) a developer API. Ask yourself, how much per year do you pay to use MicroSoft Office. I bet nothing, whereas there is a yearly fee attached to these programs well into the several hundreds.

Think back to the incredulity and rage people felt with the iPhone antennae issue. Imagine, people were incensed that they couldn't hold their phones in a manner that they wouldn't have thought to prior to being told that they couldn't. Now Apple was responsible for their anger by creating an expectation that only exceptional would do. Think about what a third of this expectation from scheduling software customers and what a culture of exceptionalism from developers could generated in a years time. What we have instead is exceptional is the exception and I have not seen it to date.

Neither of these programs are good enough yet and it's only when enough customers realize how little you actually get for what you invest or when there is a suitable competitor will things change. The first Apple computers shipped 35 years ago. Had they followed a similar trajectory to what's being tolerated here, Jobs might only now be moving out of his mom's garage.

I have in my pocket the equivalent computing power of what fifty years ago was a supercomputer and as a tutor I can't check within 30 seconds who I'm supposed to be meeting with right now. Unacceptable. Sorry, but I'm taking no prisoners on this.

The solution won't be easy but the staring point is obvious. Hire a front end developer and web designer. Programmers aren't usually trained or equipped to do either. They have different priorities and skill sets but all three are needed to make a quality product and to tell the story.

]]> By: Mike http://www.techcenterblog.com/blog/453/comment-page-1/#comment-984 Mike Wed, 09 Feb 2011 19:46:44 +0000 http://www.techcenterblog.com/blog/?p=453#comment-984 The current AccuTrack interface is much different from version 8, so you no longer feel like you wandered back to the eighties :-) The main menu and reports screens now use a tree type control instead of buttons, and users can replace the background with their own or select from a few included options. AccuTrack does give the user more control over its features. It also offers some neat features including the ability to automatically generate and email reports, traffic reports generated in the form of Excel charts, customized letters via mail merge with Word, Outlook calendar support, and much more. Keep in mind that version 8 was released in 2004, so the referenced videos are a little outdated. If you are interested in this software I recommend that you contact Engineerica. They offer complimentary online demos of their latest software. The current AccuTrack interface is much different from version 8, so you no longer feel like you wandered back to the eighties :-) The main menu and reports screens now use a tree type control instead of buttons, and users can replace the background with their own or select from a few included options.
AccuTrack does give the user more control over its features. It also offers some neat features including the ability to automatically generate and email reports, traffic reports generated in the form of Excel charts, customized letters via mail merge with Word, Outlook calendar support, and much more.
Keep in mind that version 8 was released in 2004, so the referenced videos are a little outdated. If you are interested in this software I recommend that you contact Engineerica. They offer complimentary online demos of their latest software.

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