General Community Update

Written by Matt SimpsonApril 15, 2005

A few things I felt it is important to update everyone one.

New Update: Wednesday, May 4th, 2005
I just got back from a Medical Conference for the past week. I’m home for a few days and then I have to leave again for my cousin’s wedding. During this time I’ve been working on ListMessenger on/off. I’ve got the new setup engine done and all that remains is the upgrade program, which I am currently working on. Thank-you for your patience.

1) The next release of ListMessenger is going along very well. The application itself is now complete and is being tested by a few select individuals. The only thing left to do is to write the new installer / upgrade system so I don’t expect this will take much longer. Again, I do not want to set a release date; however, if I were to hinder a guess I would say Sunday, April 24th, 2005 would be a good date. I’ll just reiterate that this is not a release date, but just a date that I would expect it to be completed.

2) I have updated ListMessenger Pro 1.0’s internal packages and fixed a number of smaller issues that have been causing a higher number of support issues lately. The updates to ListMessenger Pro 1.0 include:

  • An upgraded PHPMailer class which does not have SMTP problems.
  • PHP5 readiness by default (renamed $this to $string).
  • Removal of invalid index.php file in the public images folder.
  • An update to the Import tool which moves import files from the servers tmp directory to your ListMessenger tmp directory before reading them.

There is no need to upgrade ListMessenger 1.0 if you are not currently experiencing any problems. The issues that were fixed are generally minor and usually effect users immediately. No version number was incremented (i.e. 1.0.2) because in ListMessenger 1.0 if I increment a version number change I had to upgrade the installer and since this was a maintenance release, it just wasn’t worth it. In the next release of ListMessenger I have implemented a build numbering system you will always know where your release stands.

3) I will be away this weekend and unable to provide technical support to users. I am leaving Friday at 12:00PM EST and will return Sunday evening. Please feel free to leave messages on the forum and I will address them when I return.

ListMessenger 1.1 Beta 2 Available

Written by Matt SimpsonFebruary 28, 2005

ToDo

  • Upgrade Program to upgrade / migrate ListMessenger 0.5 – 1.0 (working on)
  • Documentation (working on: Erik is doing great at this.)

(completed list is at the bottom of the message)

Announcement

Well after another long stretch of development, I’m pleased to announce that another beta release of ListMessenger Pro 1.1 (Beta 2) is available for download in the Members Area of the ListMessenger website. This beta release is available to anyone who has previously purchased ListMessenger Pro 1.0.

This beta completes the new ListMessenger administration interface and adds a lot of new features to ListMessenger in general. Because of all the new features, this beta release was required to ensure the product is as stable and sound as possible prior to the final release. What this beta does not include is the upgraded end-user tools which allow people to subscribe from your website, and it also does not include an upgrade path from previous versions of ListMessenger. The end-user tools and upgrade system are currently in development and will be included with the final release of ListMessenger.

I would also like to remind you once again, that this is in fact a beta release and I implore you not to use this as your production system. Please do not overwrite your ListMessenger 1.0 installation with this beta release.

I would also like to remind you that all ListMessenger Pro upgrades are available at no cost and upgrade support is also provided via the forum for the final release. On that note, installation support is generally not provided for installing a beta release; however, you are encouraged to express opinions, comments or problems in the forum as well. The forum is available 24 hours a day at: http://forum.listmessenger.com

Finally, I would like to take a moment to sincerely thank all ListMessenger users who are eagerly, but patiently awaiting the final release of this version. It has been one heck of a journey to get this far and this release has been in development for over an entire year.

Also a special thank-you goes out to a forum user and now moderator Erik Geurts, whose dedication and assistance within the ListMessenger community does not go unnoticed and is greatly appreciated. Thanks Erik.

Completed

  • Done… Upgrade End-User Tools
  • Done… Add Notifications To End-User Tools
  • Done… Put out ListMessenger Pro 1.1 Beta 2
  • Done… Auto-Unsubscribe Link
  • Done… Text-Message Spell Checking Integration
  • Done… Control Panel Item – Import & Export
  • Done… Control Panel Item – Backup & Restore
  • Done… Online Files Window when Composing
  • Done… Control Panel Item – Templates
  • Done… Control Panel Item – File Management
  • Done… Subscriber Stats
  • Done… HTMLArea ImageManager Plug-In
  • Done… Timezone Offsetting Ability
  • Done… Just updating comments, and installer.
  • Done… Migrate the Preferences page into the Control Panel.
  • Done… Finish add / edit / delete subscribers.
  • Done… Fix pop-up calendar bug for Safari support.
  • Done… Fix resume bug in sending system.
  • Done… Queue listing page.
  • Done… Fix move subscribers bug when deleting a group.
  • Done… Fix deleting subscribers bug (didn’t delete custom data).
  • Done… Upgraded ADODB classes to 4.60

ListMessenger 1.1 Update 6

Written by Matt SimpsonOctober 4, 2004

Despite working a great deal of hours over this weekend, I wasn’t able to get even a beta available for release of the next version of ListMessenger. Since this next version is a complete re-write of the original, the code base has changed which will not allow me to migrate older code. The new sending engine, which was what I worked on all weekend, is pretty much complete and is at least a twenty times improvement over the 1.0 version.

I am working hard to deliver this upgrade, thank-you for your patience.

On a separate note, I’m never going to do such a big upgrade again. There’s just too much in getting it ready for production, despite what I think sometimes when I “have a great idea”. I’m making it my goal for future releases to be more frequent, but less complex and less features.

ListMessenger 1.1 Update 5

Written by Matt SimpsonSeptember 28, 2004

I thought that I had better put out another release announcement to let everyone know the progress on ListMessenger 1.1.

I have been working diligently on the next release since my return from PHPWorks 2004 (PHP Conference) in Toronto on Sunday. I plan to have no less then a beta version of ListMessenger 1.1 available on the weekend, which will be available to all ListMessenger Pro customers. I will send out a notice to the ListMessenger mailing list when the release is available, as well as post another announcement.

In other news, users should be aware of a possible service outage of the ListMessenger website, members area and forums on Thursday evening and/or Friday morning as we will be upgrading our production server. We do not expect the outage to be long and we appreciate your patience.

ListMessenger 1.1 Update 4

Written by Matt SimpsonAugust 27, 2004

With all the e-mails and questions I receive regarding ListMessenger 1.1, I felt it best to just release another announcement explaining the delay and the timelines I expect for this release.

Please be advised that ListMessenger 1.1 is indeed under development and that it is indeed very late. This is not because of programming complexities or any issues relating to the program, but because I simply have not had the time to complete it. I have roughly 15 to 20 hours of programming left to complete it which really isn’t all that much; however, the deadlines that I am under at the University are preventing me from spending that time on ListMessenger. We’ve had two large, top priority projects dumped on our lap last minute and it’s very frustrating for me and unfortunate that it has hindered the development this much.

The number one top priority project was completed on time by September 1st and the second top priority project is required to be completed by September 15th. I am going to spend as much time as possible during the next two weeks on ListMessenger; however, development will be delayed until the end of September. So in other words, you can expect that ListMessenger Pro 1.1 will be released by the end of September, 2004; however, my hope is that it is released sooner than that.

I would also like to take a minute to state that I really sincerely do apologize for the inconveniences and delays of users waiting to upgrade. I completely understand your frustration and I just want you to know that I feel the same way.

The sooner this version is out, the better the following version will be! I always look at it that way, but at the same time, I don’t like to release stuff early.

ListMessenger 1.1 Update 3

Written by Matt SimpsonJune 28, 2004

I’m decided to release some teaser screenshots of ListMessenger 1.1. There’s still some development work that needs to be done before I can seed it for beta testing.

Development has slowed due to members of my wedding party that I haven’t seen in a long time coming down to visit and I have one more coming this weekend. I also am going to be doing a server upgrade shortly so this will take a bit of my time away from development. I’ll be sure to post as soon as I have any further information.

Screenshots:

Sadly, I couldn’t find the 4 screenshots to include here. Sorry.

Matt Simpson

ListMessenger 1.1 Update 2

Written by Matt SimpsonJune 24, 2004

As much as I was hoping to have this done or at least seeded as a release candidate by Monday, it really doesn’t look like that’s going to happen now. Some code complications and feature modifications are taking much longer than I ever thought; basically just figuring out how things are going to work with each other properly is what’s taking the time.

The way I designed it on paper was flawed, of course, so I want to make sure I get it correct in the code. If absolutely nothing else, I will definitely release some screenshots by the end of the weekend (I want to wait until all the new icons are in place).

ListMessenger 1.1 Update

Written by Matt SimpsonJune 14, 2004

I felt as though I should post a note to announce the development status of ListMessenger 1.1. I am very happy to say that it is going along quite well and despite some initial delays, development is on course and the release date of June 28th, 2004 is expected to be met. While I expect that it will be ready for June 28th, I will probably initially release it as a Release Candidate and make it available to all current ListMessenger Pro users who wish to participate in the development process. After it’s been tested in some larger environments (might take a few days to a week) it will be officially launched to the public.

Thorough testing is underway at the present time; however, I’ve learned along the way that the best tests are done by the users themselves.

I will also say that ListMessenger is being, for the most part, re-written and there are many enhancements and new features which are going to be included.

Remember, ListMessenger Pro users receive all ListMessenger Pro upgrades at no cost.

More status updates will be posted in this section as they are available. I’ll also probably post some screenshots to tease when all major sections are completed.

ListMessenger Pro 1.1 Development Plans

Written by Matt SimpsonApril 17, 2004

I am pleased to announce the development plans for ListMessenger Pro 1.1 to the public. After careful consideration and input from customers here are the features that will be added for the 1.1 release:

  • Administrator customizable fields which will affect all groups. This will change in the future to include a group-specific field list; however, the 1.1 release will have the ability to manage custom fields for all groups only.
  • Option to allow notification of administrator or administrators of new subscriptions. This again, will affect all groups and will not be group specific.
  • The ability to manage file attachments and send attachments to groups.
  • The functionality to offset your servers default time zone.
  • The functionality to modify the default character set of your messages.
  • The option to allow end-users to select their desired display language in the end-user tools.
  • The ability to move the “public” folder out of the ListMessenger application directory and place it wherever you wish.
  • The upgrade of the following internal applications: PHPMailer CVS, HTMLArea 3.0rc2, PCLZip 2.1

The ability to sort by subscription date (added)!

Other possible changes that will be dependant on development time include:

  • Removal of all MySQL specific code and the inclusion of the ADOdb database abstraction library.
  • The requirement of PHP’s magic_quotes_gpc removed by adding a function that checks for such occurrences.

Along with these additions, there will be interface improvements and all known bugs from current releases will be fixed.

The intended release date of ListMessenger Pro 1.1 will be Monday, June 28th, 2004. Please note that this release date is an intended release date and if the modifications are completed before this date it will be released; however, at the same time if the modifications are not complete, it will not be released.

  • ListMessenger Light 1.1 will have some new features as well. Including all features listed above accept:
  • File attachment and management support
  • Administrator customizable fields

There is no intended release date for ListMessenger Light 1.1, although it should be released around the same time as ListMessenger Pro 1.1, but not before.

We will also be making modifications to our Members Area over the next several months, to include even more usable features besides the current key management and purchasing system. We will be introducing such features as an integrated trouble support ticket system for Pro users, an integrated knowledge base, integration with the forum so that ListMessenger Pro users can be uniquely identified in the forum. We will also be adding Visa, Master Card and possibly more payment methods to the system so that we can extend purchasing services to regions where PayPal currently does not provide account service. PayPal will still be available; this will be an added payment option.

Finally, we plan on really putting some serious effort into further development of our very successful reseller program. Resellers will be encouraged to play a larger role and further integration solutions with their private services is something that we look forward to supporting.

Thank-you for taking the time to read this release announcement, we look forward to powering your mailing list management needs for many sites to come.

Forum & Members Area Downtime

Written by Matt SimpsonFebruary 29, 2004

This evening from approximately 7:45PM EST until tomorrow morning (Monday, March 1st, 2004) until around 10:30AM EST the ListMessenger Forum as well as the ListMessenger Members Area will be unavailable while we do a server change.

While downtime should be minimal, the backup that we make this evening will be restored to the new server tomorrow morning meaning that any purchases from the Members Area or postings in the forum would be lost. We feel that it’s best to remove access to these area’s until after our upgrade so as not to create any confusion with potential customers or cause any forum posts to be lost.

While we realize that this upgrade may be of some inconvenience to some users, we feel that it’s better for the greater good.

So please post and shop away until 7:45PM EST today, if not, we’ll see you tomorrow when we’re back online!