Next week, it will have been 12 years since Macosx.com first went online. So much can change in 12 years and for Apple, it has been a very good change. It also means changes in our own lives. In those same 12 years, I got married, had two kids, got divorced, moved twice, held numerous positions at various companies, for the last 6 have been running my own business. I have had a lot on my plate and some things just had to take a back seat.
It has been a long time in coming and honestly, I have failed to keep Macosx.com on top of the social networks and getting the site in your face and in the face of others, and for that reason, activity has been declining, in spite of the Mac marketshare increasing. There were a number of barriers keeping me from moving forward and so I made the decision to not let them be barriers anymore, but to just drive around them and keep going.
So, you may ask what is changing or has changed?
Personal Tech Support
As you will notice, this area is no longer available. The code for that backend needed a major upgrade and it was a barrier in keeping us from moving forward as months and years went by, I realized, it was time to Think Different. More than likely, it will come back, in a different form, something that is a little more hip and fresh. In the mean time, just ask your question on the forums.
Upgraded to VB4
We had been running VB3 and VB4 made a lot of our old code in the Tech Support area obsolete, not to mention the interface of our Tech Support system was out dated. So, we upgrade to VB4 just when VB5 is announced. A little behind the curve? Not at all, because we will probably not be making the jump to VB5 based on it's current direction. Which is actually quite freeing, because we can take the ground work of VB4 and then just do with it what we want moving forward. Our move to VB4 does open some other functionality however, which I will address below.
FaceBook Integration
Finally. You can now connect your accounts with FaceBook, register on the site using FaceBook, you can like threads and posts and all sorts of things. We even have a Facebook page. So, be sure and "LIKE" us.
Twitter
This has been around, nothing really new on that front, but did update the icon and will try and tweak how the tweets are pushed out.
Mobile App (Native IOS/Android)
We will be pushing out a new application hopefully this week to the App Store and Android Stores with our very own App. While we will admit up front, it's not the "win-all" app, it will be fully functional for using the site. We will continue to support ForumRunner App connections for those who use it and want to continue using it.
Mobile Style
For those who just want to get to us in the phone browser, we have a new IOS type template that allows you to view the site, which you can start using today. It's not feature reach, but easier to use the site. You always have the option to over-ride that and choose to view the regular site. Once everything gets nailed out above, I will spend some time customizing that template.
And More...
This is just the beginning. My plan is to just roll out things as they are available to roll out. Moving forward, even slowly, is better than just standing still.
So, in conclusion, I just want to thank the volunteers of this site who have faithfully kept this site going in various aspects of this site, who's contributions are priceless.
Here is to another 12 years!
Scott William
It has been a long time in coming and honestly, I have failed to keep Macosx.com on top of the social networks and getting the site in your face and in the face of others, and for that reason, activity has been declining, in spite of the Mac marketshare increasing. There were a number of barriers keeping me from moving forward and so I made the decision to not let them be barriers anymore, but to just drive around them and keep going.
So, you may ask what is changing or has changed?
Personal Tech Support
As you will notice, this area is no longer available. The code for that backend needed a major upgrade and it was a barrier in keeping us from moving forward as months and years went by, I realized, it was time to Think Different. More than likely, it will come back, in a different form, something that is a little more hip and fresh. In the mean time, just ask your question on the forums.
Upgraded to VB4
We had been running VB3 and VB4 made a lot of our old code in the Tech Support area obsolete, not to mention the interface of our Tech Support system was out dated. So, we upgrade to VB4 just when VB5 is announced. A little behind the curve? Not at all, because we will probably not be making the jump to VB5 based on it's current direction. Which is actually quite freeing, because we can take the ground work of VB4 and then just do with it what we want moving forward. Our move to VB4 does open some other functionality however, which I will address below.
FaceBook Integration
Finally. You can now connect your accounts with FaceBook, register on the site using FaceBook, you can like threads and posts and all sorts of things. We even have a Facebook page. So, be sure and "LIKE" us.
This has been around, nothing really new on that front, but did update the icon and will try and tweak how the tweets are pushed out.
Mobile App (Native IOS/Android)
We will be pushing out a new application hopefully this week to the App Store and Android Stores with our very own App. While we will admit up front, it's not the "win-all" app, it will be fully functional for using the site. We will continue to support ForumRunner App connections for those who use it and want to continue using it.
Mobile Style
For those who just want to get to us in the phone browser, we have a new IOS type template that allows you to view the site, which you can start using today. It's not feature reach, but easier to use the site. You always have the option to over-ride that and choose to view the regular site. Once everything gets nailed out above, I will spend some time customizing that template.
And More...
This is just the beginning. My plan is to just roll out things as they are available to roll out. Moving forward, even slowly, is better than just standing still.
So, in conclusion, I just want to thank the volunteers of this site who have faithfully kept this site going in various aspects of this site, who's contributions are priceless.
Here is to another 12 years!
Scott William