[mv] Minivend 4 released

[Mike Heins <mikeh@minivend.com>]

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

Announcing Release of MiniVend 4.

(
	Note to the user list: I have been using Minivend 4 in production
	now for two months.  It has taken tens of thousands of orders. I
	think it is time to bite the bullet and release. 8-)
)

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 Hornburg) 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.

* Added demonstration of downloadable products.

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

* HTML fixed (somewhat).

* 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.
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
-- 
Internet Robotics, 131 Willow Lane, Floor 2, Oxford, OH  45056
phone +1.513.523.7621 fax 7501 <mikeh@minivend.com>

Be patient. God isn't finished with me yet.  -- unknown
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