New ParaPlan Install Using LogMeIn Rescue!

Carl is at Summit Stage in Frisco, CO this week training our newest ParaPlan clients!  I performed the install using our FTP site set up by Tim and with LogMeIn Rescue.  This new remote support tool allows us to easily take control of any computer with a unique code and their permission.  There is no software to install on either end and we have now used it at over 10 sites with various client computer configurations and networks.  We are very pleased to announce this new tool that allows us to provide even better support to our clients.

If immediate remote support is ever needed, just contact EnGraph for your 6-digit support code and goto http://engraph.com/support

New Sales Position Available at EnGraph

EnGraph is offering a unique marketing and sales position to someone who desires working for a small software company that has been growing steadily since 1999.  We are looking for someone to dive in head first, become proficient with our products, study our market, then architect our new corporate sales position for years to come.

Position Overview
------------------------
EnGraph is actively looking for a motivated sales professional to market and proudly sell EnGraph Software products. Since 1999, we have been helping organizations streamline their transportation services. Our product line is targeted towards city and county agencies that provide curb-to-curb transportation service for elderly and handicapped persons in their communities. As the need for these services increases each year, EnGraph wishes to hire a motivated person to help lead our market growth in this industry.

Please click this link for more information.

MapInfo Special Event

EnGraph was one of the first partners with MapInfo and we have been using their mapping products with our software since the early 90's.  Even though we are considering other mapping products, I am going to a 1-day MapInfo conference to hopefully get a good update of where they are headed. 

EnGraph Visits Indiana

Carl and I are in Warsaw, IN to install ParaPlan this week at KABS.  Carl and I are driving this lovely Dodge Caliber from Enterprise.  This is the start of a bright future for EnGraph in Indiana.

Heading to the Arkansas Transit Show

Carl and I are leaving soon to go the Arkansas Public Transit Conference in lovely Hot Springs, AR.  We will be taking Where's Tim?, so you can track our journey online...click here.

Wish us luck!

EnGraph Launches New Website & Logo!

I am pleased to present our new logo and website for EnGraph Software.  Our old site used frames and desperately needed updating to make it simpler for everyone to find information about EnGraph.  Tim wrote about it too!  I am very excited to present the fresh and new...

www.engraph.com

We also have updated our logo to make it simpler for reproduction on signs, shirts, swag, etc.  Here it is!

Selling Our First House

Allie and I put our house on the market today!  We are very proud of it and excited to take our next step.  We'd like to thank Debbie and Frank for their amazing help getting it ready.  Thanks to Matt Prentis for his landscaping expertise and hooking us up with the best realtor in KC, Damon Earnshaw & Company (Reece & Nichols). 

Thanks to my Dad who helped with our house and who put us up in the interim.  Much thanks to Tim who created my finished basement with limited help from me :)  More thanks to Jonas Heter who rocked my electrical system!

Our house was just listed an hour ago on heartland MLS (link).  It will soon be on the Reece & Nichols website after they do this 360 degree video shoot. 

MLS# 1429885  << link

Here is a collage of how fantastic our house looks!

NJ Transit Show

I am on the road getting ready to attend the New Jersey COST Expo in Holmdel, NJ tomorrow morning.  Follow me using Where's Tim!

I will be showcasing EnGraph's pride and joy, ParaPlan and GPS Control Room.  I may even give my booth visitors a little taste of Tim's Goldstar which is fantastic.

EnGraph's First Lobby Furniture

We recently purchased a 'nice' collection of furniture for our lobby from Target.  Once we add a pillow, Tim will finally have the lounge he always wanted...

Here is a pic of Carl and our new chairs!

Quick Note About Pandora

I am currently very impressed with Pandora.  It is a music service that is free online, but costs if you want to use it on your Sprint phone.  The service creates playlists based on any artist you input.  It then picks tracks based on results from a research project that evaluates songs based on beat style, melody, etc.  It is very very cool and I recommend it to everyone!

EnGraph On The Road

We have been traveling much this summer.  I am currently in Philadelphia where I plan to visit Pennsylvania Transit Company.  PTC operates as a provider for LogistiCare where they download almost 1,000 trips everyday from the LGTC website and then import them to ParaPlan.

Carl and I recently visited MEOC Transit in Big Stone Gap, VA...

MEOC has been using ParaPlan Pro SQL since July 2.

On July 16-18, we installed ParaPlan Lite at Georgetown Senior Center in Jenison, MI.  This was our first Vista install...

At GSC we had a strange issue involving multi-user Access 2000 formatted databases and Vista.  Tim did some Googling and found a rare fix from Microsoft for this exact problem!

After our install at GSC, I drove up to Traverse City on Wednesday to see one of our largest clients, Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA)...

BATA has 60 Paratransit vehicles that they schedule in real-time using ParaPlan Pro!  Their operations director, Don Scharmen, then took me out to Sleeping Bear National Shoreline on Lake Michigan.

I then went to visit our very first ParaPlan clients at the American Red Cross of Greater Grand Rapids.  Here is a pic of me and Tony Slaughter, our very first ParaPlan user...

Tomorrow, I will be picking up Tim at PHL and then we are headed to Salem County Specialized Transportation in New Jersey.  We are visiting them all week to troubleshoot a few problem GPS units that are in use with ParaPlan Pro.  They operate transportation service our of 5 satellite offices.

I will return to the office on August 1.

File Sharing Lock Count Exceeded

When processing large transactions within a Microsoft 'split-database' application, you may receive the above error.  The MS 'split-db' in Access is not a true client-server solution, it is a file-server solution that can lead to this error/issue.

To avoid this issue you need to manually change a registry setting for MS Jet 4.0.  Set the value to at least 1,000,000,000 and follow the Method 1 instructions linked to here:  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/815281

EnGaging Posts Coming Soon!!!

I have been extremely busy personally and professional this summer and posting got shelved for a while.  EnGraph has had some new installs and Tim has been cranking away furiously on Goldstar.  David and Jonathan have also released our Beta version of our new engineering/detailing software.  Anyway, here are some posts that are coming soon from yours truly:

• ParaPlan Install at MEOC Transit
• Google Reader and Other Cool Things
• Top 5 Reasons Why Tim Hasn't Blogged in Over a Month
• LinkindIn
• The Google Story and David Vise
• Microsoft Blend, XAML, WPF and .NET 3.0
• The Evolution of Goldstar
• Preparing My House For Selling
• Our Vacation Anniversary to Phoenix
• Upcoming Install at Georgetown Senior Center
• Fine-tuning ParaPlan GPS at Salem County

So please come back and check my blog out later this week!

Computer Tools For The Visually Impaired

Our flagship software system, ParaPlan, provides scheduling and dispatching software for the Paratransit industry.  This industry is defined by the right of elderly and handicapped persons to public transportation.  If you are elderly, handicapped, or part of a special program you are entitled to public transportation in most U.S. cities.  Users of this service are picked up at their door and taken to the destination (doctor, store, work, etc.) 

Most agencies which provide this service are non-profit and sponsored by their city or county.  Numerous local and federal monies (including MediCare and Medicaid) help fund this service.  Our clients providing this service deliver from 50-500 clients to and from their destinations everyday.

Anyway, due to the nature of this industry many of our ParaPlan users are elderly and/or handicapped themselves.  Some have physical limitations that require special computer hardware (unique keyboards and mice, etc.).  One of our potential client's is blind and uses Windows with an add-on package called Supernova. 

Supernova includes magnification, speech and Braille output to cater for all types of visual impairments.  It basically 'reads' the screen to the user through a nice voice of your choice.  We recently had an inquiry to see if ParaPlan could be used in tandem with Supernova for the visually impaired.  I downloaded their demo and it worked immediately with our software!

The point of this post is that a) I love the fact that there are so many cool tools out there for everyone to use computers and b) the fact that our software was written in the proper environments to seamlessly support 3rd party tools quickly.

Windows DreamScene Content

Here is a pic of my new desktop in Vista...and yes it moves and is kinda cool.

Tim Turns 28

It is Tim's golden birthday tomorrow and I thought I would honor him with this picture I snagged on Friday.  Happy bday dog!

EnGraph at CTAA EXPO 2007!

Carl and Mark are hosting the EnGraph booth at the CTAA EXPO 2007 in Reno, NV this week.  If you are in attendance, please come and see our software in action!

EnGraph On The Road Again

I am currently in Grand Rapids, MI, where tomorrow I will visit EnGraph's very first ParaPlan client, the American Red Cross of Greater Grand Rapids.  In 1999 they were in search of Paratransit Scheduling software to support their transportation service and Carl came across their RFP.  I had recently left Burns & McDonnell as a structural engineer to help make EnGraph a reality.

After I started at EnGraph, we eventually decided to build our OWN application around our scheduling SDK's for MapInfo (in lieu of ostensibly selling them as 'tools' for other developers, etc.).  The initial ParaPlan workflow was based on Carl's initial proposal and input from the Red Cross in Grand Rapids.  I used this input from various sources to create ParaPlan 1.0, which debuted in the summer of 2000.  I had built small applications at KU and for my thesis, but this was my first commercial application built entirely by me and it still exists to this day!  40+ installations later...here we are!

Now that I have a 'real' developer re-writing ParaPlan...the future is bright!

I also hope to visit our newest client, Georgetown Senior Center, for a pre-install meeting on this business trip.

Yahoo! Reader

The new my.yahoo has some cool features like this Reader that pops up on any subscribed post that is in 'full-text'.

I guess I missed an April post, oh well.

Flash Installed But Not Working

I really like the new MS Virtual Earth Radar on weather.com, it is much better than its predecessor.  Anyway, it suddenly stopped working and kept prompting me to install Flash, then I would hit the link, install etc., and Adobe reported that Flash 9 was successfully installed...However, the radar still didn't show up and some other interactive real estate sites were not either.

This seemed to start happening after I switched to the very cool and new my.yahoo Beta, but I do not think that caused it.  I am also running Vista with IE 7 of course.

So I started Googling around and found out that other people had the same issue.  The solution is to unistall flash and then re-install it.  This is something I should have done, but didn't...so I thought I would share this with everybody.

To uninstall Flash you must use their uninstall executable which can be found here.  Good Luck!

Flickr Plug-In for LiveWriter

Tim installed LiveWriter and the Flickr Plug-In for me back when I was an XP slave.  Now that I am in Vista, I needed that plug-in so I googled around for it, but actually had a problem finding the actual download site, so I thought I would put the link in a post so here it is:  Flickr4Writer

Honda Turns a Hundy

I bought my little Honda Civic brand new back in 1998.  I paid it off in 2002 and it was the first brand new car I ever had.  I just turned over 100,000 the other weekend and here is a pic of course :)

Microsoft Access 2007 and Word 2007

I recently bashed Microsoft Access 2007, but the product does have 2 nice new features...

1. You can now scroll within the VBA code window.
2. The mousewheel no longer scrolls through records on your forms.

You can run the exact same database in Access 2003 and then in Access 2007 and notice these 2 scrolling changes immediately.  These would have been very very useful even back on Access 2000 for crying out loud, but oh well.

Word 2007 is really cool actually...

1. Web page editing is nice and intuitive.
2. Inserting drawings and pictures is seriously amazing.
3. You can change your inserted pictures quickly and add fun shadows etc., which I of course like.
4. Working with tables is SO MUCH EASIER!

I am loving the Word 2007...word!

Adobe Reader 8 Install for Vista

I had troubles installing Adobe Reader 8 in Vista and was receiving the following error:  "The Temp folder is on a drive that is full or is inaccessible.  Free up space on the drive or verify that you have write permission on the Temp folder."

I found the solution...You need to download the install file to your desktop, right-click the file, goto Properties->Compatibility Tab and select 'Run this program in compatibility mode for:  Windows XP (Service Pack 2)'

Then press OK and double click the downloaded install file and you should be good to go!

I found this solution here.

Tiger Never Disappoints

As most of my friends know, I have a slight obsession with Tiger Woods.  I am constantly amazed at one thing...his ability to win when he wants to.  He is currently playing in the Buick Championship and going for his 7th victory in a row.  Only the great Byron Nelson has had a better streak of 11.  I have been waiting for TV coverage all day and after the Badgers beat the Hawkeyes...the coverage came on.

Jim Nantz of CBS started the coverage with a summary of the day and how Tiger was within one stroke, but had just bogeyed and was 3 back.  I wanted an exciting show but got dissappointed quickly.  However, they picked up live coverage with Tiger putting for birdie on 8, he of course made it.  I think he has the best 'bounce back' stats on the Tour.  I then got to see Tiger hit the 613yd 9th in 2 shots and can a 30 foot eagle putt to tie the lead and then start the back nine.

He is tied for the lead as we speak while teeing off on #10, and all I have to say is..."Bye bye other dudes."

Vista, Office 2007 and Internet Explorer 7

On January 6, 2007, Tim talked me into paving my new laptop with Windows Vista and Office 2007 on the knowledge that it was necessary for our company. It is very good for a company to have people like Tim AND people like me. My first reaction to Vista was complete awe. Us Windows die-hards are not used to the pretty interface like on a Mac, but we have it now...VISTA IS BEAUTIFUL!

I have waited to post about my Vista experience because my initial reaction changed after the first day of use. Vista is very pretty to look at, but when you actually try to use it, you realize it is very very different. Not that much different, but just enough to make it a tad difficult. I have now been playing with this new wonderful OS for about 3 weeks now...and all I can say is...Vista will eventually show you the way if you give it a chance. It is almost like they are telling us 'This is how we wanted computers to work for 25 years now'. After many growing pains, I have found Vista to be the most stable, helpful and intuitive creature I have ever used. However, working with files is much different and you can only play around with your own documents (which is an entire other post about the new UAC).

Regarding IE 7, it is growing on me. I have been an IE 6 + Maxthon user for quite sometime, but in my attempts to 'clean up' my user experience to only Microsoft products...I am finding IE 7 does actually meet my needs. I think Maxthon was the inventor of tabbed browsing, but IE 7 makes a nice attempt at that, but still the 'drag-link-new tab' feature of Maxthon is DEARLY missed. I have yet to find a way to absolutely prevent new browsers from popping up regardless of a CTRL+click or not, but it will happen I think. I miss many features of Maxthon, but I am overcoming it :).

Regarding Office 2007...it is wonderful as well. These new 'ribbons' are as cool as I previewed, but it takes a while to get used to them. Access 2007 sucks compared to 03 in my opinion, but maybe I will come around. It seems they added no real functionality at all, just made it harder to find the functions you need...and the new 'sidebar' database window SUCKS btw.

Anyway...more to come as I forcefully continue my transformation to the new world.

EnGraph Welcomes 2007

EnGraph has jumped into 2007 head first!

• We officially became a Microsoft Certified Partner
• Our new client Pennsylvnia Transit Company is rocking ParaPlan Pro using daily imported data from LogistiCare
• Tim has migrated our network to Active Directory and Microsoft Team Foundation Server, which will provide us with the best source control software on the market and allow us to use Microsoft Exchange and possibly CRM
• TFS allows us to easily assign development tasks and then track project status on SharePoint for each project
• Tim and I will be visiting the northeast in late January to upgrade existing clients
• Carl, David and Jon were in DC recently for a big meeting with the committee overseeing our new monster AutoCAD project that is truly incredible
• ParaPlan will soon integrate with the Medicaid Encounter program
• We continue pushing forward with Goldstar development

This is shaping up to be our best year ever!