What are Actinic's long term goals?

[Darren B]

I couldn't agree less.

If you think Actinic should become an SQL, PHP, modular system with an open API then you're really confusing Actinic with something else. There's already plenty of systems doing that and it would be a huge mistake for actinic to try and do the same.


Mike

I am not suggesting Actinic changes to something else completely, and to be honest i would not use another piece of software, i think all in all pound for pound Actinic is a great product. I have been using it for over 6 years, if i was unhappy then i would have moved along time ago.

What i am suggesting is Actinic holds its unique appeal, offers what no one else does.

Gabe has demonstrated you can have a desktop application and and online sql.

What im saying is - If you require realtime stock control, online accounts, order history e.t.c then why not have this as an additional plugin, Gabe is offering it (well some of the bits), but he has found many limitations to it.

Now Actinic are going to try there best to resolve the stock issue, i would be interested to know how they are going to do this? I dont doubt there are other ways to do it rather than and DB, but you limit yourself to only offering this option.

[RuralWeb]

I agree with mike on this one. Actinic is actinic let's not turn it into something the same as all the others. It's a package designed for small business to get online very quickly and it does a fantastic job of that. It also allows designers to do those bit via dreamweaver which again is great.

We are in danger here of driving it in the wrong direction by adding features at the expence of the way it currently works. Yes stock control (as cb says it's going to be looked at) and the other things are nice but not everyone wants them. Things like checkout are more important and will benifit all users not just the few. Now from what I know they are heading in the right direction so please don't get distracted by the vocal minority.

[chris ashdown]

I would suggest its time to split the product into two versions, one with stock control and one without, that way the simple version can be sold slightly cheaper, is less complicated and fits the bill for a large number of users

[Darren B]

Interesting - i was actually commenting on what has been mentioned across the forum for years. I thought it was open discussion

i shall leave you guys to it and get back in my box.

[Darren B]

I would suggest its time to split the product into two versions, one with stock control and one without, that way the simple version can be sold slightly cheaper, is less complicated and fits the bill for a large number of users

This was my point exactly, you buy the bits you want, not reinvent the wheel. Obviously using the word plug ins means to change the software completely.

For this i apologies if this has been misunderstood

[Sean Williams]

wow. Thanks, Lee. I feel enlightened now

LOL - I assumed the reference was to "Farrah" Fawcett-Majors's

[RuralWeb]

I'm not disagreeing with you darren what I'm trying to say is not make it so much like all the others out there. Now a modular system is what they have already ie lite, catalog, business, business plus etc and I would see stock control as a natural progression to business. I would take it further and go below lite ie remove all the ecommerce and produce a cheap website builder this would increase actinic a customer base and ime many realize after having a brochure website for a while that they also need econmerce so they simply upgrade.

Actinic is the easiest way to build a website full stop and changing that is what I'm against. Now if they can do that and make it all databased BUT still keep it's excellent abilities in the search engines then that is the underlying question for me. It's a simple fact that database sites do not perform as well as actinic does and to change simply to get something like order history would be a mistake. If it can be done my adding a separte databse for those bits that need it then I'm all for that but I'd rather have a site that gets traffic than is full of wizbang stuff.

[TraceyHand]

LOL - I assumed the reference was to "Farrah" Fawcett-Majors's

well, I wondered. That's why, not too concerned about making a fool of myself,
I asked!

[george]

I'm going to start a thread on new stuff as the original topic (ie what is in the pipeline) seems to have gone a bit off the track.

Interesting reading though.

[Mike Hughes]

This was my point exactly, you buy the bits you want, not reinvent the wheel. Obviously using the word plug ins means to change the software completely.

For this i apologies if this has been misunderstood

Sorry Darren, I didn't mean it to sound like I was having a pop at you. It wasn't your post in particular I was taking opposition to, I've just seen one or two people on the forum pushing for an open API, mySQL (presumably if they don't like the accesss database), modularity, PHP rather than perl, etc. If you put it all together you have something that clearly isn't actinic.

As Gabe has found out and is looking at, Actinic already holds the stock information in the .cat files and the availability (and price, weight, etc) is checked before the item can be added to the cart. The .cat files are only ever updated by the PC application, but in essence the interface to a stock check system already exists and "all"* actinic needs to do is replace the current static .cat system with something that can be updated in real time. Whether this is an sql database or something else is their call. Of course an sql database on the server is very efficient can hold so much more information, so this sounds like the path that makes most sense.

If it was me I'd do this in two stages. Firstly replace the .cat files with say mysql and an updating routine (for RT Stock Control). Secondly add in the other uses. I haven't been privy to any Actinic discussions on this so have no idea on what they're actually planning.

Mike

* - "all" : Nothing like this is ever as easy as it sounds.

[cbarling]

I think that we need horses for courses. That's why we have multiple products, including the EC range (Catalog, Business, Enterprise) and Express.

Express is designed to be the easiest possible way to start selling online, with matching low price. EC works well for people who want to be in complete control. They own the software and can select a variety of hosts and payment providers, minimising risks. It's hard to get such a low risk approach with a hosted solution.

But there are also plenty of other needs - web developers need extensibility and flexibility more than anything else, designers need complete control over design. Some people need access to their application from anywhere - so it's got to be web based. For others, integration with EPOS store systems is key. And there are lots of other variants.

Just to give you a heads up on some more of Actinic's thinking on this topic, we are going to be releasing some improvements in the flexibility of Express in the next few months, we're working on EC v10, where we want to address concerns but also not lose the unique advanatges of EC. We are also thinking about separate products that might address the sort of needs that Gabe has outlined.

While we are on the subject of our products, I would like to mention that Enterprise is essentially EC running on SQL*Server (on the desktop) with some additions. It's currently used by Tesco in the shape of Dobbie's Garden Centres, which ought to end the view that you can't scale EC to handle big businesses.

http://www.dobbies.co.uk/acatalog/
and
http://www.dobbies.com/investorsnewslist.aspx

Chris

[malbro]

Just to give you a heads up on some more of Actinic's thinking on this topic, we are going to be releasing some improvements in the flexibility of Express in the next few months, we're working on EC v10, where we want to address concerns but also not lose the unique advanatges of EC. We are also thinking about separate products that might address the sort of needs that Gabe has outlined.

Chris

Is it possible for you to give some idea albeit vague about your current priorities for developments, there are various potential add-ons to Actinic many of which will not have mass appeal but could still be lucrative for small companies to produce. It would be useful to know where you are putting your efforts so that those of us who are interested in developing such add-ons (or plug ins) can make informed choices on where to put our efforts. Is there any way in which this information could be made available?

[Darren B]

Actinic is the easiest way to build a website full stop and changing that is what I'm against. Now if they can do that and make it all databased BUT still keep it's excellent abilities in the search engines then that is the underlying question for me. It's a simple fact that database sites do not perform as well as actinic does and to change simply to get something like order history would be a mistake. If it can be done my adding a separte databse for those bits that need it then I'm all for that but I'd rather have a site that gets traffic than is full of wizbang stuff.

And this probably why i have stuck with it, you can do loads, and V8 was probably once of the biggest jumps the product made, i am still discovering some bits and learning the software.

As i said though, i feel the way i explained the plugins was wrong, i would never want to see actinic like all the other systems out there, and yes another version if you like "business realtime" maybe?

I am no programmer but i do understand that sometimes the smallest change can be a huge task.

[RuralWeb]

so we are saying the same things darren. Is that a first

[leehack]

If you bought a new Ford Fiesta 5 years ago and then went for the same model again this year, you'd expect as standard when comparing the 2 models:

• Advancement
• Improvements
• Higher standard spec
• A better more modern look
• Annoying niggles ironed out

You'd still be buying a Ford Fiesta, just a better one. I think people are losing sight somewhat on what progress and change actually means and also how you cannot fight these forces, they will eat you up if you do.

Actinic must not lose its identity for sure, but it simply has to progress to retain its current place in the market and keep its existing customer base happy. Things like real time stock control are things that need to seamlessly sit in the background doing their thing, where the user has no idea on the complexities and technicalities of what is actually happening. This thread illustrates the kind of panic that descends when SQL et al are mentioned, but Actinic have been using these technologies for several years already anyway.

2 of the top 3 feature requests (if implemented) will undoubtedly involve SQL and online connectivity in some way, so it's time to buckle up and enjoy the ride, it will be eventful if nothing else.