The iOS client is beginning to behave a bit like an iCloud app, but there is still a way to go.
News
Newsletter
Until now, we have announced changes to the Sales Manager on Twitter. But a lot of our users are not on Twitter, so we have decided to send out emails instead. To sign up for our newsletter, just send us a contact message, with the newsletter option checked.
Website update
General
A lot of work has gone into improving the overall appearance of the site:
- There is a new colour scheme, to match the logo.
- The size of the header text has been reduced.
- The thick black lines have been removed or made thinner.
- The meta info for posts has been moved.
- The tables have all been spruced up.
Scripts and Strings
The server scripts and text strings have been tidied up:
- The documentation is more detailed, and is now in PDF format.
- The ASP.Net scripts only ship with the .Net assembly, and the VB.Net source code for reference purposes. The rest of the solution has been removed.
- The Android text strings have been updated.
Sidebar
- The links have been tidied up. Some have been removed, and others added.
- By popular request, there is a new category for the Simpsons quotes.
Footer
- In one of the sections at the bottom, an HTML menu has been added. This reproduces the top level links in the header, in plain text form.
- In the other section, I have added a Simpsons quote.
- There is a new social media menu for email, Twitter and RSS.
PayPal payments fixed
A bug in the PayPal payments process has been fixed, and the transactions on the Store page are now proceeding normally.
Hosting service revamped
The HTML for the hosting service is being refreshed, raising it from HTML4 to HTML5, and bringing it more in line with the main website. The new site can be previewed here.
Changes to scripts
The aspx scripts use an asp.NET assembly. The scripts no longer ship with the whole project, but only come with the vb.NET source code, and the assembly itself.
New priorities
With my new development laptop, I will be able to resume work on the Android and iOS clients. My immediate objectives are:
- Test the new iCloud features for the iOS app. iCloud now appears to be working, but my app does not.
- Remove camera scanning from the Android app. This has been holding up progress on the new user manual.
Mobile apps refreshed
The mobile apps have both been refreshed, with versions produced on my new development laptop. The Android one has already hit Google Play, and the iOS one is in review. In either case, there should be no functional change.
HP ProBook 6570b
My new laptop is a second hand HP ProBook 6570b, which I bought cheap on eBay. It is the business version of the otherwise identical HP EliteBook 8570p. It comes in various configurations, and I went for 8 GB of RAM and a 250 GB SSD drive, which I would recommend for developers.
My first impression was just how heavy the laptop was. It is luggable rather than portable, and was definitely not designed for mobile use. On the plus side, it has lots of ports, and a modular design. It is very easy to swap components, and I intend to replace the optical drive with a hard one.
The SSD drive has made development a lot faster. My files only take up 100 GB, and I will be adding a 1 TB hard drive, as soon as the bracket arrives. The only down side was that it suffered from the notorious battery not charging problem, which I eventually managed to fix.
I would recommend this model to anyone who wants a laptop that functions as a desktop. If you just want to plonk it down somewhere and use it, it will suit you just fine. But if you want to carry it about with you, you will end up with very tired arms.
Viewing our news feed
If you are using the Chrome web browser, you can view our news feed using the new Chrome extension, as follows:
- Install the RSS Feed Reader extension.
- Select the RSS Feed option in the social menu.
- Click on the RSS Feed Reader icon in the Chrome address bar.
- Select Vanguard Sales Manager.
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