Re: [mv] Minivend, the next chapter

["Michael Schwartz" <michael@panamacom.com>]

******    message to minivend-users from "Michael Schwartz" <michael@panamacom.com>     ******

Great, I hope that only good comes out of this!!! Minivend is a great
program....i really hope the migration process will be easy  :)

----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Heins <mikeh@minivend.com>
To: MiniVend User List <minivend-users@minivend.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2000 2:34 AM
Subject: [mv] Minivend, the next chapter


> ******    message to minivend-users from Mike Heins <mikeh@minivend.com>
******
>
> Dear All,
>
> I am pleased to announce that Minivend is getting a new direction and
> new resources.
>
> I have joined Akopia, Inc., and Akopia is now the shepherd of Minivend.
> Some of you may have seen Tallyman, the fine e-commerce program developed
> by Akopia.
>
> I first must make clear 3 key points:
>
>     1. Minivend and all derivatives remain GPL. The central business
strategy
>        of Akopia is open source.
>     2. For those who have made the move to Minivend 4, you won't have
>        to change anything. The source base remains much the same -- the
>        major immediate changes are to the admin interface.
>     3. I am still heavily involved in the development of Minivend.
>        In fact, before long that will be my main job.
>
> Minivend improves in myriad ways with this move.
>
> Immediately, the development staff has increased four-fold. Please
> welcome:
>
>     David Wingate
>     Jason Holt
>     Sonny Cook
>     Jon Jensen
>
> They are all talented Perl developers whose primary job is to improve
> and develop Minivend.
>
> There will be technical writers dedicated to do nothing but improve the
> Minivend documentation. Demolition and reconstruction is improvement,
> right? 8-)
>
> Akopia has financing to support all of this. We intend, with your help
> as always, to make our software best of breed.
>
> You can see some information about Akopia at http://www.akopia.com;
> you are getting this announcement before the rest of the world, so
> it may be a short while before the web sites reflect the announcement.
>
> All client and hosting commitments made by me are taken over by Akopia.
> We will be developing a support offering which should enhance your
> ability to provide e-commerce solutions with Minivend.
>
> As you know, Minivend is a bit of a misnomer. In fact, there are several
> people who have commented that they originally passed by Minivend because
> they were looking for a high-end solution. So the name will change,
> to what we don't yet know. Suggestions? There is a $500 cash prize for
> the winner of the name contest.
>
> Some questions I am sure will be asked:
>
>     Q. What does this mean for the software in the short term?
>
>     A. The Tallyman user interface goes on top of the Minivend
>     software. Releases will be started from a version number 4.5.x
>     and will follow the now-common practice of making odd numbers unstable
>     releases and even numbers stable releases.
>
>     Q. Do I have to change everything again?
>
>     No. A migration path will be provided for both Minivend and Tallyman
>     users; the change will be minimal for Minivend users and more involved
>     for Tallyman users. The source base will be Minivend.
>
>     Q. You are going to start selling it now, right?
>
>     A. No. License is still the Gnu GPL.
>
>     Q. When will it be released?
>
>     A. We expect a beta release soon, within days or at most a
>     couple of weeks.
>
> I know this announcement might cause some consternation, but it is
> necessary if Minivend is to continue to improve and remain viable.
> Even with all of your help, Minivend has outgrown what I can do
> on my own.
>
> Thanks to all of you for making this possible by your support.
>
> Best,
> Mike
> --
> Internet Robotics, 131 Willow Lane, Floor 2, Oxford, OH  45056
> phone +1.513.523.7621 fax 7501 <mikeh@minivend.com>
>
> Fast, reliable, cheap.  Pick two and we'll talk.  -- unknown
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