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Archived Messages

• 08-Sep-03 Version 2.0 Cancelled
• 20-Feb-99 Version 2.0 Preview
• 01-Dec-98 Version 1.06 Released
• 13-Oct-98 Let My Data Go
• 29-Sep-98 Latest Hints
• 03-Sep-98 1.02 Update Released
• 04-Aug-98 Slot Car Tracker Released
• 29-Jun-98 Last Beta
• 15-Jun-98 Final Beta Almost Ready To Ship
• 25-Apr-98 How Much $$?
• 12-Apr-98 Beta 4 Ships
• 01-Apr-98 Welcome

September 8, 2003 Version 2.0 Cancelled

Version 2.0 has never got out the door. If any current owner of Slot Car Tracker feels cheated, please contact me and I'll make it right.

There were the best of intentions, but some of the technical issues I was not able to get by. Also, Clarion came out with a new release, but wanted over $1,000.00 to upgrade so development was "stranded" on the older level.

My apologies to any Slot Car Tracker owner who feels wronged by this. Please e-mail me and we'll work something out.

February 20, 1999 Version 2.0 Preview

It's been awhile since my last message to the list, but that doesn't mean nothing's going on.

The current version of Slot Car Tracker (1.06) has been well received and has had only one minor problem. The "state" field on the buyers and traders screen is too small to show two characters if one of them is a "W". Both characters are there, just can't see 'em.

Now to the plan for version 2.0! I hope to release this sometime late this year. There will probably be a bit of a price increase, but all the 1.0 users will get it at no cost.

Now for the exciting stuff...

Here are the features currently being reviewed for inclusion in 2.0:

1. The ability to add pictures of your cars. Several folks with scanners and digital cameras have asked for this.
2. More flexible reporting. More choices for sorting, selecting and print formats.
3. Better exporting. Ways to get info out of Slot Car Tracker and into programs like Access and Excel to do things Slot Car Tracker doesn't.
4. Faster entry. Putting the cars in is the toughest part of Slot Car Tracker. Hopefully it can get easier!

Please let me know if you feel strongly about any of these in particular, or if there's another being left out.

Disclaimer: at this time, these are all being considered, but some of them may not happen. If we don't come up with a good way to do it, then it won't make it into Slot Car Tracker.

December 1, 1998 Version 1.06 Released

Slot Car Tracker Version 1.06 is now ready. Thanks to the many users who suggested these changes! Updates are free for all registered users.

What's New In Version 1.06

1. You can now set defaults that will be used for each new car you Insert. There is a big button on the toolbar to set/change your defaults or you can select Defaults under the Setup menu. You can now set your personal defaults for:

• Model: Useful if you're entering your T-Jet or Tyco collection
• Condition: Most folks collect c7, c8 or c9 so you can set it to the best choice
• Source: Helps if you buy a bunch from the same place
• Est. Value By: Who assigns the valuation
• C10 Value By: Where do you get your c10 values? Howard's Guide?

All the defaults can be left blank so you get today's behavior (if you want it).

2. Menus have changed slightly: User Information is now under the Setup menu along with the new Defaults. The Table Lists menu has been moved to the Tables menu.

3. Reports by body style. If you collect by body style (like Corvettes) then you can get most reports printed by body style now.

4. Export. Both Want and For Sale lists can be exported to a text file. This makes it easy to get a list to send by e-mail, or paste into a word processor.

5. The car entry screen has been compacted into 4 tabs with more information on each one. In most cases you should be able to enter most cars without going to the second tab.

• All the estimated value fields moved to the first tab
• Notes moved to the second tab
• There is no fifth tab anymore

6. There are two new Status Types: "For Sale" and "Trade". Yes! Slot Car Tracker now lets you keep track of the cars you're selling and trading. A new For Sale report prints in convenient format.

7. Default Status based on tab: If you're on the Racer, For Sale or Wanted tab then the status defaults to Racer, For Sale or Wanted for new cars (Insert)

8. Collection reports now print a total Quantity as well as the total number of lines. This is useful if you use the Quantity field.

9. The tool tip for each tab on the car list describes the sort order fully.

10. New Reports:

• Collection, by Body Style - A one-line per item listing including a "worth" column. Prints in a small font.
• For Sale, Large Font - A two-line per item listing of cars for sale or trade.
• Want List by Body Style, With Prices - A one line per item report designed to take to shows.
• Want List by Body Style, Without Prices - Designed to give to anyone who asks "what are you looking for." Includes desired condition, but no mention of what you'll pay for the car.

11. The help file has been updated a bit.

October 13, 1998 Let My Data Go

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions! There are good things in the works. There are also no plans to charge for upgrades during the next six months, please tell your friends!

I've had a request to add For Sale/Trade cars and print lists of them. Any thoughts, wants or input will be great!

In the near future, I'll be adding the ability to "export" lists to a text file. This will allow you to produce Want Lists that can easily be included in e-mail, on WWW pages, etc. In the future it may also let Slot Car Tracker produce a format that like comma-delimited files that can be read by Excel and other spreadsheets. Let me know if you have any thoughts on this.

September 29, 1998 Latest Hints

Here are a couple of hints for getting the most out of Slot Car Tracker.

How to spend less time entering the Model. This can help you if you are entering a large group of cars with the same model. In this example, you want to enter all your Tomy Turbo cars that have a model of TOTURB.

1. Go to the model list and change the model TOTURB to a single character like X. This will change all TOTURB cars to model X.
2. Enter the Tomy Turbo cars using model X (saving 500 keystrokes.)
3. Go back to the model list and change X back to TOTURB. This will change all the X cars back to TOTURB.

You can also use this feature to fix any model names you want to change.

How do the drop-down lists work?

• If you start typing and press the down arrow then the list will show starting where you were typing.
• The list is now "typematic" so as you type more, the closer it will move to a match.
• If there's no match, you can press Escape to dismiss the list.

Many of the fields have these lists. As you add cars, the info is automatically added to the lists. You can use the Tables menu to get to all the files behind the lists and edit them.

September 3, 1998 1.02 Update Released

What's New In Version 1.02

No bug fixes! These are all new things that users asked for:

1. (Brian L.) The car list now contains the Quantity column so you can see items you have more than one of in the list.
2. (Brian L.) The Buyers and Sellers table can contain the addresses, phone number, e-mail, etc of those folks you deal with. Under the Tables menu select Buyers and Sellers, select a person or business and enter any or all of the information. The listing (under the Table Lists menu) now includes all the info you enter.
3. (David W.) There is a new valuation report (Reports, Collection, Valuation) that tells you how much your collection is worth, and how much you've spent.

August 4, 1998 Slot Car Tracker Released

Slot Car Tracker for Windows is officially released. After months of work and testing, it's now ready to ship.

June 29, 1998 Last Beta

The final test version of Slot Car Tracker is ready to send to the loyal group of Beta Testers!

After many months, the development will come to an end! I anticipate shipping release versions of Slot Car Tracker in July.

Slot Car Tracker comes with a money-back guarantee. Just send it back. Your money will be cheerfully refunded.

Support will be via e-mail and the WWW.

When the release version ships there will be another message, but expect it soon!

June 15, 1998 Final Beta Almost Ready To Ship

Within the next week I hope to have the final help file done and ship the last Beta version to all the testers.

Thanks to all the testers for their suggestions and help. This has taken awhile and folks have stuck with me to make this a great product.

Some last minute additions are:

• "Upgrade" cars - these are slots in your collection that you want to replace. Beta testers asked for it and it's in there! Marking a car as "Upgrade" will cause it to appear in both your collection and wanted lists. In the wanted list it will have it's current condition so you know what you're improving from.
• A compressed format collection listing using landscape printing.

Expect new messages in the next couple weeks as things draw to a close and the product goes out the door.

April 25, 1998 How Much $$?

As the release of Slot Car Tracker gets closer, One thing that will be important is how much to sell it for...

What do you think?

Here's what I expect to include:

1. A diskette, or e-mail the setup file with the program on it.
2. A small "cheat sheet" to get you started.
3. An installation guide for those who need it (put the disk in a: and run a:\setup)
4. Licensed per household. You can use it, your wife can use it, your kids can use it until they move out. Then they buy their own copy.
5. Support via e-mail and this list.
6. I'll have a phone number that folks can call, but it will pretty much always go to an answering machine.
7. Free updates until I've put a lot of time into another version with significant new features (assuming the first version generates a positive response.
8. 60 or 90 day money-back guarantee. If you don't like it, send it back. Or better yet, complain and maybe I can fix it.

Here's what won't be included:

1. A fancy box.
2. A registration card. When you buy it, I'll register you. (I wish other companies would do this...)
3. An extensive manual. If the software is that hard to use, it shouldn't live and I'll send everyone's money back.

Is there anything I've left out?

OK - what should I charge for it?

Thanks for any feedback and opinions. Send your thoughts and suggestions to me and I'll let you know what we end up with.

April 12, 1998 Beta 4 Ships

The beta 4 version of Slot Car Tracker has been made available to the beta testers.

The focus of beta 4 has been the reports that are printed. There is a version of the "Want List" (cars you're looking for) that prints in tiny characters so you can get 60+ cars to a page. Perfect for taking to shows.

Also new with this release: all the reports are personalized with the owner's name and up to 3 lines of any text. I use my address and internet e-mail, but you can use anything you want.

The reports in Slot Car Tracker are:

• Collection Listing - All you collectable cars
• Racers - Your racing stable with performance statistics
• Want List - In three formats
• Model List - All the models in your collection (T-Jet, 440x2, etc.)

In the next month we hope to add an additional Collection report that includes everything on a car in small print.

April 1, 1998 Welcome

The current plan is for Slot Car Tracker to be released sometime during the Summer of 1998.

The wonderful beta testers are using the third beta version. The fourth beta version is due out in the next couple of weeks. The next beta will include most of the reports in their final form and will allow the Slot Car Collector to enter personal information to print on the lists.

Stay tuned, there's more great things to come!