For years DMAC has provided a full home-office class-training schedule for Unibase users. Classes include “Introduction to Unibase by DMAC,” “Advanced Use of the AIDS Language, “Using Unibase Imaging,” and “WebBase by DMAC” .

Most participants are either new DMAC clients or personnel of existing clients who are expanding their operations. To encourage increased participation in Unibase training, DMAC will be providing free classroom training in the coming year to qualified clients adding five or more licenses and to all qualified dealers.

DMAC qualified dealers can send personnel to Unibase training classes, free of charge, on a space available basis. Classes are currently limited to 10 students and preference must be given to persons paying the $1,250 tuition.

For every five new licenses activated in 2001, new and existing customers may send one person to class. The class attended must be relevant to the type of software licensed and the class must be the first available after the new license activation. As with dealer personnel attendance, preference will be afforded to those paying for training.

To find out how to qualify for DMAC's free classroom training, visit
. Additional information about DMAC classroom training is available at www.dmac-unibase.com/support/calendar-frame.htm. If you have questions about training in general or DMAC's new 2001 free training program visit our feedback form at www.dmac-unibase.com/support/contact-form.htm. Of course, the training schedule and feedback forms can be found on the DMAC web site at www.dmac-unibase.com.
 

 
DMAC In-House 2001 Classroom Training
Schedule Posted on Web Site
 

The DMAC in-house (that means here in Winchester, VA) class schedule has been posted on the on DMAC's web site. Four one week courses will be offered each quarter in 2001. The courses are "Introduction to Unibase," "Advanced Unibase," " Unibase Imaging" and "WebBase by DMAC." They begin in sequence on the following dates: January 22, May 7, August 6, and October 1, 2001. DMAC will be providing free training to dealers and clients who add 5 or more licenses. Click here for details.
 

 
AID Output Generator Produces
Comma Delimited File Code
 

This past summer, students at a DMAC training class defined a product enhancement for Unibase by DMAC. Jose Velasquez of ILM, Lisa Herges-Hayes of Continental Data and Maria Ruechle of Gage Marketing all wanted an easier way to create an output program that would produce “delimited” records. They had each written their own programs and found the process time consuming, although straight forward.

DMAC's development team stuck this product enhancement into 7.48i so it is now available to all clients. To generate an output program with the AID output generator only, required one new question, “Add Output Field Delimiters:,” The default answer is “N”, for no. When “Y” for yes is used, the proper code is added to the generated program. 

The generated code can be used as is, or modified in any way desired. DMAC's development team loves to receive complete requests for enhancements such as the summer class produced. When the only thinking is about how to accomplish a task, rather than what the task is, everything moves more smoothly.
 

 
WebBase Beta Sites Moving Forward
 

New technology is difficult to disseminate and assimilate. As the WebBase product enters its ninth month of existence, we are finding the hardest part of installing WebBase is communicating with the Internet Service Providers (ISPs). 

WebBase is an advanced product drawing from some of the less known features of the web. For instance, we know now not to assume an ISP can provide a user with a unique Internet identification number (looks like 128.128.128.128) that remains constant. The “that remains constant” is the difficult part. Many software products assign a new number each time to each user. Darn difficult if you want to put up a web site of your own under the ISP's internet identification number sub group. Oh well, first lesson learned.

The second lesson learned has to do with wanting to add a secure service based on telnet to your web server. One group of ISPs says they do not support telnet. Sometimes it is impossible to get this group of ISPs to understand that we are using the telnet standard protocol; not the telnet program for our service. Of course, another group of ISPs say they already have telnet (the program) and cannot see why we want another service based on the telnet standard protocol.

In development we cannot understand how an ISP cannot know how to add a service to a system. The old-timer among us says that this is the way it was when local area networks first came out. All cable people back then wanted coaxial standard 59. What was 58? Now we all know, and do not use it much. Progress.

The old battles between UNIX/LINUX and Microsoft get heated up also. Some ISPs will not work with UNIX/LINUX servers. Gotta have Microsoft. But of course they have to have Windows NT because they are afraid to go to Windows 2000. When you say that we can run on Windows 2000 but it costs more money to run on a five year old Windows NT product because Telnet protocol support is a separate product back there, they just try to jack up the cost of the users monthly fee. The user gets mad at DMAC for not telling them about ISPs idiosyncrasies. That is what this article is doing; so listen up.

So you have heard some of the problems. Should a service bureau be discouraged? ABSOLUTELY NOT! All the skills a service bureau can bring to bear mean that they are going to be a great knowledgeable client of some ISP. A service bureau is going to give long life to ISPs. The ISP will not have to worry about Application Service Providers (ASPs) running the ISPs out of business. And of course every potential service bureau client is going to be tickled that they have modern suppliers who understand the web and explain the web without using TLAs (three letter acronyms).

Can a service bureau ever be free from the ISP? Absolutely! To have your own domain ID costs about $2,500 per year in the US, but of course that is the tip of the iceberg in costs. The real cost is in understanding how to use the web for now. An ISP is needed now. (In proof reading this article, Rick Tarbox says that an ID from a foreign country is much less costly. (Update later). Should a service bureau look at being an ASP? Sure, if you have lots of free time, money, and do not mind risking everything on a rented space of time. Ask someone who owns a timeshare unit (two weeks or so). Good idea for the real estate people, but probably no one else.

In summary, WebBase is moving through the beta product cycle slowly. The brave pioneers who undertake this beta process will have a longer lead over others than we in development expected. Of course, the arrows stuck in their backs make sleep difficult. We will begin to have production numbers by the next newsletter, so stay tuned.

 
Korrick Atley Fitzgerald Comes To Work
 

The week before Christmas, 3 month old Korrick Atley Fitzgerald started coming to work on a daily basis at DMAC. Korrick was born on October 17, 2000 to new parents Tonya and Paul Fitzgerald. Tonya, our National Sales Manager, now brings Korrick to work with her for all the reasons you might expect. 

DMAC president, Fred Tarbox, observes that, here at the turn of the century, we still have not figured out how to integrate babies into the work-a-day world. Feeling that there must be an effective way to mix babies and business, Fred has decided to give it a try. Progress reports will be forthcoming. Advice is welcome on this project.
 

 
One Solution, Different Operating Systems
 

DMAC has recently heard of a product using a different approach from that of DMAC's Wizard 1.0. In 1995 DMAC tried this other approach so it is worth a few comments. The approach tried and dropped by DMAC was to recreate the POSIX console environment on the Microsoft Windows operating systems. Mort Kern Systems, Inc. provides an application program interface (API) that essentially duplicates UNIX on Microsoft. Once DMAC had it running we learned it was slow. Also finding out whether a bug was DMAC's, the API's or Microsoft's became impossible. Adding an enhancement that would work well in the UNIX and Microsoft environments also was very difficult.

None of the above caused DMAC to drop this product. The real reason we dropped the product was that our clients complained that they were not learning the new “real world”
of Microsoft from the product. They said they had to learn UNIX to run a Microsoft based machine. Back to the drawing boards went our development team. In 1998 we reintroduced our Windows 32 bit product which now used the WIN32 API and multithreading of our own design.

We learned from this WIN32 API also. Work began in 1998 to develop the JAVA based WebBase by DMAC to run in browsers and utilize the knowledge gained from adding a WIN32 API fit to our POSIX code.

Thus DMAC's products run in native mode on all the various competing operating systems. While the user interface remains essentially the same, DMAC takes advantage of the particular operating system's strengths in each platform. DMAC enables it clients to do data capture on all the current operating systems in a native mode with essentially the same user keyboard / menu interface. At DMAC we are convinced this is the way to speed, accuracy, and efficiency for our clients. DMAC provides the data capture solution without trying to minimize DMAC's costs for one product.
 

 
DMAC's New Clients In The Land Down Under
Accent “Around-the-World Support”
 

Most new clients notice that DMAC's maintenance charges are lower than those of DMAC's competitors. We hope this comes from the underlying concepts behind DMAC's “Around-the-World Support.” These concepts include emphasis on quality Software, Documentation, Training and Support.

Software
First, DMAC tests, retests, and tests again before a release reaches our clients. Clients help in this testing. Then, when a bug is found and documented, we jump on it as quickly as we can. Then we start the cycle again.

Documentation
DMAC provides accurate reference manuals on our web site, in hard copy and as a searchable and printable computer file. This newsletter (sent electronically since 2000) and embedded help and readme files keep the user up to date.

Training
DMAC provides CD-ROM based training as well as on-site and client-site training.

Support
When needed, real people at DMAC are just a phone call away. For many users, dealers provide the first line of support, backed up by DMAC's home office staff.
Ok, so much for the history lesson and quality concepts. Australia has become a hot new site for use of DMAC's products. What are we learning? We are learning there is a great opportunity for DMAC dealers on the other side of the world and DMAC wants new international dealers. We're finding that new dealers want to work with us. DMAC will change because of this. Stay tuned.
 

 
DMAC Wizard 1.0 Supports Rfmouse
 

Rick and Fred have been beating out the specification for the next major set of verbs for the Unibase by DMAC environment. The List Box verb is the first new verb. The framework for the List Box verb is based upon a discontinued software package from ZINC for which DMAC has the rights to the source language. DMAC plans to call this framework DMAC's Wizard 1.0. Currently Rfmouse is supported by DMAC's Wizard 1.0. The difference between ZINC and DMAC's Wizard 1.0 currently is the “flyby” or “mouse over” feature. This feature provides text identification of each button when the mouse is over the button.

DMAC's Wizard 1.0 will run on Microsoft's 16 and 32 bit operating systems using the C++ language as well as in Java on Netscape and Internet Explorer. DMAC's Wizard 1.0 will utilize the multithread shell developed for Microsoft's 32-bit operating system. This shell gives DMAC's products a speed advantage over other Microsoft API approaches.
 

 
{ALT}{Enter}Switches 32 Bit Release 7.48i To Full Screen
  

After several years of listening to clients suggest what {ALT}{Enter} should do in the Microsoft 32 Bit version, Unibase by DMAC, and Unibase Imaging, release 7.48i now do what most people thought it should. Using {ALT}{Enter} for the first time takes Unibase by DMAC or Unibase Imaging to a full screen. Use {ALT}{Enter} again and the screen returns to whatever mode it was in originally.

Such a solution sounds simple, but hard work was required to make the solution work. Rick Tarbox worked over DEI in 32 bit mode so that {ALT}{Enter} makes the screen look just like the 16 bit version (but of course it's the 32bit version). This does not detract from the dual screen option of the 32bit version.

The default type font has changed again. DMAC is committed to using True Type fonts. Thus the full screen is a fixed pitch courier font with some boldness. It would be so nice if DMAC could use a True Type font that looked like the OEM Fixed System Font. Maybe we can get an artist to dream one up that would not conflict with someone else's licenses and would be portable. While they are at it, we would like the OEM symbols so peoples' line drawing would transfer from 16 to 32 bit painlessly. Developers' wishes are so simple.
 

 
New Conversion Programs Move
Viking Software Users to Unibase
  

It was bound to happen, sooner or later. DMAC finally has had to write a conversion program to move Viking Software Meta data to the Unibase by DMAC environment. Everyone at DMAC has enjoyed competing with Viking Software this past decade. Rarely could DMAC get Viking users to review DMAC. The products were similar (DMAC's more robust) and the support from Viking was almost as good as the support from DMAC. But a new day has arrived. Viking Software has been sold. A new owner of Viking Software means new opportunities for DMAC. 

So, if you are a Viking Software user, and the new bunch of people do not treat you as you wish to be treated, get up with DMAC. We at DMAC work hard to keep our software running on all operating systems, keep competitive features, support our clients (mainly service organizations, service bureaus, service providers, dealers, etc). And best of all we are working on getting the next generation of the DMAC families involved in continuing the business when the founders get all their kids through college.

 
AID Generators Growth In Complexity Handled
  

The AID Generators were given the equivalent of a “stretch and stuff” job this past fall. They can generate bigger, more complex programs without error or running out of memory. In fact, in Unibase by DMAC release 7.48i, the 32 bit Microsoft and UNIX/LINUX versions can do more than the 16 bit Microsoft version. This enhancement is for Valerie Geller of Pathfinders Strategies in Australia. Valerie needed to generate a field edit and an output program for a job that had 21 record formats, each with 225 variables. Now she can. For a new user, Valerie has plunged into Unibase with no fear.

 
DMAC Provides The Environment;
Our Clients Provide the Solutions
  

Unibase by DMAC, Unibase Imaging and WebBase by DMAC are products that create environments where those skilled in the data capture environment can create  solutions to real world problems. DMAC clients, be they service bureaus, service organizations, dealers or value added resellers, provide the expertise to solve the problem. 

Some Things DMAC Is

DMAC is responsive

DMAC products change based upon the requests of DMAC clients. DMAC provides the training and support to enable DMAC clients to provide the best solutions in the industry.

DMAC is a Software Manufacturer

DMAC is our client's software skunk works. We at DMAC think we make the best data capture software in the world. We keep it modern. We make it run on all significant operating systems. All DMAC policies are set up to reinforce this arrangement. 

Some Things DMAC Is Not

DMAC is not a body shop

We can teach clients to solve their own problems using DMAC products. But we cannot provide the people to solve the problems. DMAC clients do this and DMAC does not compete with its clients.

DMAC does not embed Software 

DMAC knows its computer environments. We do not embed code in DMAC products where DMAC does not have the source and rights to the source. 

DMAC does not Assemble Front-To-Back Software Chains

While all DMAC clients use DMAC for receiving, manipulating, and transmitting data, DMAC does not gather up other software packages and sell them. DMAC can and does interface with almost any product (or DMAC will build the necessary interface), but DMAC's clients assemble the solution.

Some Things DMAC Wants To Be 

DMAC wants to be known “Around-The-World” as the best data capture environment. 

DMAC wants dealers to represent it where DMAC is ignorant of local customs, problems, etc.