H5 Bird Flu Pandemic Help Comes As WebBase 2 Proves Reliable for DMAC;
Clients Begin Using This Winter

WebBase 2 allows DMAC clients to use it as a solution for allowing employees to remain at home when exposed to the H5 strain of bird flu. The US government is recommending all companies ask employees to remain at home if they are exposed to the H5 strain of bird flu.

Since the WebBase 2 demo was put on the web in July, DMAC has had NO problems with it working as designed. So now starting in November DMAC is working with a 50 user client with sufficient web experience to utilize WebBase 2 under actual working conditions. All clients can benefit from this experience.

Access to the Unibase environment over the internet is provided by WebBase 2. Keyers or supervisors using WebBase 2 use a browser to access Unibase by DMAC and Unibase Imaging through a Windows Server 2003 (Standard, Enterprise, or DataCenter Edition) at the DMAC's client's site.

In addition, keyers or supervisors at the client site can access the same batches, images, etc. (persistent files) at the same time as the web based keyers. DMAC made all the changes in its own code so that Microsoft's Terminal Services and Remote Desktop Protocol would work correctly.

The WebBase 2 demo page has its own tab on each page at www.dmac-unibase.com. Users can see what is involved in setting up WebBase 2. #

DMAC's Image Viewer 1.0 joins Unibase Imaging, Release 8.2

DMAC's Image Viewer 1.0 joins Unibase Imaging, Release 8.2 to allow users to pan, zoom, rotate the current image in either a half or full size window which is separate from the normal Image Entry window during the image entry process.

The new Image Viewer replaces the functions controlled by the F5 and F6 keys in the 16 bit version of Unibase Imaging. The standard Pan Up (^F1), Pan Down (^F2), Pan Left (^F3), Pan Right (^F4), Zoom In (^F7), Zoom Out (^F8), Rotate (now called Spin) Forward (^F9), and Spin Reverse(^F10) keys are supported.

In addition the Half Size image key (^F5) now can toggle between half and full size. The First time the (^F5) is hit, the Image Viewer appears.

The Image Viewer has a button for each of the above functions with the shortcut key listed on the button. The button can be activated with the mouse. #

DMAC Now Assists Clients Online Using "www.GoToMeeting.com"

Times change; so does DMAC. Now DMAC is using "www.GoTo Meeting.com" to assist clients. This is the easiest-to-use online meeting solution which DMAC could find.

GoToMeeting is provided by Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. The underlying technology is the same as that used by DMAC for WebBase2. The remote desktop connection approach by Microsoft is based upon work by Citrix.

Citrix has several products which are similar. GoToMyPc, GoToAssist and GoToMeeting are all variations on the same theme. Previously, DMAC had used PCAnywhere.

So now DMAC can handle the case of a client who has a problem or solution which they want DMAC to see, or the case where DMAC wishes to demonstrate a product, or the case where DMAC wishes to conduct remote training. DMAC just sets up the client with a session at GoToMeeting. Of course there is no charge to DMAC's client; and DMAC's cost is reasonable also. #

Unibase Imaging Variations Underlying Assumptions Now Codified

As users apply Unibase Imaging to more and more tasks, the need to have slightly different rules for the underlying assumptions grows. Tina Kay has now codified for all users the ways in which Unibase Imaging can produce different environments.

The complete discussion is in DMAC's knowledge base article "Image Entry Display Cases" of 10/26/2005. Web users can access the knowledge base articles through the www.dmac-unibase.com site under support.

The major cases or environments are as follows:
A. No manual image advance - one record, one image.
B. Tethered - multiple records per image.
C. Untethered - display any image on any record.
D. Untethered - display any image on any record - UTNVIA set.

Exactly what happens in each major case or flavor is described in the knowledge base article for the following actions:
1. Start a standard job.
2. Resume a standard job.
3. Verify a standard job.
4. Verify resume a standard job.
5. Correct a standard job.

Unibase Imaging was strengthened to uniquely process each of the cases so that as users wished to create new cases, or modify behavior in a particular case, no other case would be affected. Sounds easy; it was not. #

DMAC's Internal Network Strives To Support VPN and Many Servers

Every site changes how they set up their servers every once in a while. This past summer DMAC moved all of its servers and recombined them in a network which should last for the next few years.

First, remember DMAC has lots of servers to support lots of different client servers. When we started the move we had at a least one of every Novell and one of every Microsoft servers. Then we had a bunch of UNIX and LINUX servers.

To start the process, DMAC upgraded its off-site backup procedures from tape to multiple standalone usb (universal serial bus) disks. Yes, the disks fit in the safe deposit box.

Next, the Windows NT 4 and the Novell 3 servers were retired after moving the data to Windows 2000 and Novell 5 servers.

After much talk, (a lot of that around here) the UNIX and LINUX servers were moved but not plugged into the network. We have them on cold standby.

Gary Nelson came out of retirement to supervise the move. Everybody pitched in; Fred left town that weekend so that he was out of the way.

Monday morning almost everything was working again. Approximately two dozen computers did not make the move. They will be junked. Even the local charities do not want them -- too old.

The CipaFilter box still handles all security issues for the network. It was expanded to support VPN access to the network. Of course, about three different ways to access the network with VPN were suggested. DMAC is still trying to figure out which way is best.

One DMAC client says he pays a company on the web $200 per month so that the client need not be concerned with how the VPN works. If DMAC finds VPN technology too much trouble to get going and keep going, then DMAC will try that approach.

The heat from the server farm will be recycled this winter to reduce DMAC's heating costs. That required new duct work. And of course the new farm (DMAC is still old fashioned here) required new power, and a new rest room, and new carpet, and new doors, and, and, and.

But, now we are ready to work for you from anywhere on the globe. At least we want high speed access to our servers from anywhere. Do they have wireless in Tahiti on the beach? Hope so. #

Some "Improvements" Sound Great;
But A New Picklist Was Not to Be

DMAC has its share of projects that die before they get to the user. For the past year or so, DMAC has been working with the picklist verb. In Windows 98 the underlying listbox control had a habit of creating a general protection fault and stopping Unibase Imaging. (A control is a basic building block for Windows programs which is self contained and usually built by others).

So with much effort, DMAC found and purchased a replacement control for the picklist verb which was not supposed to be based on the faulty listbox control. This control had a lot of features which every end user would love.

Of course, the interface to the control was different. Code had to be changed to even try the control. The control was finally installed and testing began. First off, the speed of the picklist verb now was only one tenth the speed of the picklist verb with the Microsoft provided listbox control. You could eat a grape while waiting for the picklist verb to perform. And this was on a 3 gigahertz machine!

No need to test the control on a Windows 98 machine. The speed issue killed the project. So now DMAC warns people about using the picklist verb on Windows 98. Two items help here. First, as of next year Windows 98 will not be supported by Microsoft. Second, on the internet a user can purchase a legal copy of Windows 2000 Professional for about $50.00. The picklist verb has no problems on Microsoft's Windows 2000 and later operating systems. Times change. #