[mv] MiniVend 4 beta test

[Mike Heins <mikeh@minivend.com>]

******    message to minivend-users from Mike Heins <mikeh@minivend.com>     ******


Announcing beta test of MiniVend 4.

(I had planned on making this a bit better announcement supported
with web pages, demos, and such, but I will be out of circulation
for some time due to a family emergency. The software is ready;
not all supporting elements are.

Most importantly, look at the docs:

	http://www.minivend.com/alpha/minivend.html

I don't know when I will again be fully back; my father just
lost his eyesight and he needs me right now. I will try to
keep up on bugs in the beta, but it will be a bit more tardy
than usual.)

Minivend 4 is an extensive rewrite of the Minivend software. Though
many things will be compatible with Minivend 3, some will not.

Major new features are almost too many to mention, so I won't
in this forum. Read the WHATSNEW and documentation for the
most complete description.

In particular MiniMate (thanks to Stefan) and the demos have
been extensively reworked.  Some highlights:

* Added "basic" demo with bare-bones set of MV features, no 
  __VARIABLE__ defines, etc.

* Added multi-level order pages, selectable at makecat time.

* Built-in support for all sorts of payment schemes. A "signio"
  and an "authorizenet" routine will be provided; integration
  with other payment systems should be a relative snap.

* HTML fixed (somewhat). HELP WOULD BE NICE HERE.

* MySQL and PostGres should install out of the box. PostGres
  still has some userdb problems due to arcane SQL syntax that
  I don't understand.

MiniMate is now *strongly* recommended -- it is greatly improved.
In fact I will probably include it in the normal distribution.
Highlights:

* Security/login is handled within userdb and should be
  transparent. You can supplement it with HTTP auth if you
  want, but for most purposes it should be sufficient.

* Individual user profiles can be created so that certain
  users can only edit certain tables (and rows and columns).
  You can also limit the set of features they see.

* Meta-information, a little-known feature of MiniMate, has
  been supported with a display editor. This allows you to
  custom-tailor the display of certain fields in the edit
  screens.

* Some menus have been cleaned up and simplified.

I believe this software is a great improvement over MiniVend
3 -- only time will tell if you agree.

Best, 
-- 
Mike Heins                          http://www.minivend.com/  ___ 
                                    Internet Robotics        |_ _|____
Fast, reliable, cheap.              131 Willow Lane, Floor 2  | ||  _ \
Pick two and we'll talk.            Oxford, OH  45056         | || |_) |
 -- unknown                         <mikeh@minivend.com>     |___|  _ <
                                    513.523.7621 FAX 7501        |_| \_\
-
To unsubscribe from the list, DO NOT REPLY to this message.  Instead, send
email with 'UNSUBSCRIBE minivend-users' in the body to Majordomo@minivend.com.
Archive of past messages: http://www.minivend.com/minivend/minivend-list