A LA MODE

[Mike Garrett RAA]

Hi Dave,

Perhaps you could do something to speed up the neighborhood quick list. I have to alphabetize it and then scroll until I find my neighborhood. Would be really neat if we could just type the name and it pops up.

I wanted to attend the training session in Denver but unfortunately it was on the same weekend as the USPAP instructors seminar. I know I am only using about 10% of the features of Athena right now. Ever given thought to training some "Key Users" in various major markets who could put on training sessions in their markets? Would be a great marketing tool too.

There must be at least 50 or more users here in Colorado Springs. I am sure I could talk Jones Real Estate College into letting us use the main class room on a night when there are no classes scheduled since I facilitate the registered appraisers course there.

Our local appraisers group, Colorado Association of Real Estate Appraisers (CAREA) just reached the 200 member mark which makes us larger than the Colorado Chapter of the Appraisal Institute. We meet 6 times a year and the Colorado Appraisal Board has approved us for 2 hours of continuing education for our meetings. Perhaps your marketing department would like to provide some demo disks and marketing materials as hand outs for one of the meetings in 2003. We have appraisers from all over the state coming to our meetings. Many of us already use your products.

 

[Richard Carlsen]

I've been running Athena on Windows XP Pro for about a week now and am impressed even more. Total is running as stable as I’ve seen it since DOS. The tech that was helping me recover some data from the old computer was amazed that I could just copy the whole appraisal program over to the new machine without reinstalling everything. This is the 2nd machine I've done this with in about 5 years.

Judy and I had to cancel our attendance at the weekend seminar in Detroit this past week. I was very disappointed because I'm sure that like most good software programs, we are not tapping the full power of ours. It is important to find what works best for you and then use it to the maximum benefit. We will pick it up a full weekend session as soon as we can find a free date and convenient location after the first of the year.

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

Richard...what program did you use to transfer from one computer to another? I need to do that too!

 

[dbiggers]

Mike, with WinTOTAL there's no need for a transfer program. Just plug both PC's into the network and drag the WinTOTAL folder from one PC to the other. It'll work fine.

I thought Richard's comment about his tech was amusing, because it does shock anyone who's technical that you can actually do this with WinTOTAL (or any Windows program). That's all possible because of WinTOTAL's "SafeStart", which checks every time you start up to see if everything system-wise is registered already, and handles it right then instead of just crapping out like every other appraisal program. (SafeStart is crucial when we deliver automatic Instant Customer Updates also -- that's what makes them "hands free".)

Dave Biggers
CEO
a la mode, inc.

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

Thanks Dave...but I am not networked...just a stand alone PC. I just purchased a new HP 1.9 gighrz and 528 megs of ram to replace you 400mhz system. Thought a clean install would be better but maybe not??

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

should have said "old" not "you"

 

[dbiggers]

Thanks Dave...but I am not networked...just a stand alone PC. I just purchased a new HP 1.9 gighrz and 528 megs of ram to replace you 400mhz system. Thought a clean install would be better but maybe not??

No, dragging it over is better. You have all your text databases, etc. that way. (Actually, using our Exact is even better since it also gets the WIN.INI sections and such which still apply.)

Almost all PC's these days ship with net cards already installed. Just pop a hub in between them and plug in. Hubs are under $50. It's less than the cost of a transfer cable and more flexible. Later you can add a wireless laptop (what I'm working on right now), networked printers, etc. which are all more flexible than PC's and peripherals connected directly. And that way your old PC becomes a good server or backup storage device.

If you want, of course, you can burn the whole WinTOTAL directory to a CD and move it over that way. But, again, the network gives you other huge advantages in the long run.

Dave

 

[Dale Smalley]

I finally gave up on Highperform and purchased Athena. I was able to get results but didn't realize I had made so many work arounds untill I tried to train a newbee. So we will both start learning the new software at the same time. And the kid is a smart *** computer expert so I can ask him to figure it out.

 

[Bill_FL]

Dave,

I did see the way Athena could be made to do the auto adjusting. I simply prefer the tool box way. You dont have to launch another program to do it. I guess it is just a preference.

As far as the neighborhood database goes, perhaps this could be better explained to the techs. I know I can create the text databases for the fields. However, when I save them, they are saved in the order I save them and not alpha. So if you have saved about 50 neighborhoods and then find that you need to put one about 5 down from the top, you are out of luck. At least, that is what tech told me. Once in, cant be sorted or searched, just scrolled thru. If it were a true database, it would be searchable and sortable.

As far as the geocoding, pretty neat idea, if just the neighborhood data comes over. I am not big on cloning an old report for a new one. Leaves a poor typist like me way to many opportunities to not delete or correct the old info on the old report. (forget to add a fireplace, uncheck a box here or there). I did set up several blank template reports with basic data, forms and boiler plate comments, but no NH or improvements data. What would be really good is if the geocoding could apply to comps. Search the comp database for proximity to the subject.

And yes, the copying or installing on networked machines is simple. Anyone can do it. I would like to have the choice though of making it a locally run program. This is much faster than trying to run the software from a server and display the results on a peer. I guess we are all getting spoiled by really fast machines now and the fastest (that I have seen available) are the 100 megabit hubs.

Dave, I know we have had some "heated" discussions in the past and my comments on this forum concerning some of the support I received were not politically correct at all. But I have to say this. I respect you as a CEO. It takes some rather heafty brass ones, if you know what I mean, to come on here and expose yourself to whatever anyone says. That takes guts and I repect you for it.

 

[dbiggers]

Bill -

Maybe I wasn't clear on the Worksheet Powerview. It's not an external program. It's built in, and it's no harder to use than the Bradford tool. It's automatic and does special adjustments and calcs whether it's visible or not. Once you set up a template, it can be cloned and merged and applies those adjustments on future appraisals. Because it's report-centric, it can vary depending on neighborhood, type of home, etc. But most importantly, it's not an external program. It has all the power of Excel but is totally built in. I think it's possibly the most powerful part of WinTOTAL. It's definitely one of the areas in the seminars where peopke wake up and say "Holy cow, I didn't know I could do that...".

Consider joining the WinTOTAL group on Yahoo -- they even share adjustment templates, etc. in their files section. The sample appraisal report in WinTOTAL also has an adjustment template in it that you can use as a "starter".

The databases are alpha sorted, but QuickLists are positional (the order you created them). If you create a real Text Database for neighborhoods, that's different from a Quick List (which is just a pointer into a database).

The geocoded idea is just that -- neighborhood data only. We do plan to offer a similar feature in the Requester for cloning whole reports, but that's more dependent on the type of property than solely on proximity. The proximity is a great use of geocoding for pulling in consistent neighborhood characteristics.

As for running locally on a network, there's nothing stopping you from doing that. People do it all the time. Install it locally but just point to a central location for your databases and files (that's in the Configuration module, very first General screen, fourth tab -- called Paths). That gets you the best of both worlds -- you can still sit down at any workstation and get access to all files and databases, but the app runs locally off the hard drive.

I never have a problem with anyone posting anything they want anywhere they choose too, politically correct or not, as long as they're prepared to engage in debate on it without playing the "customer is always right, so shut up Dave" card. The customer is sometimes wrong. And the company is sometimes wrong. I publicly say "We blew it" all the time but people rarely remember those posts.) Both parties have the right to defend their viewpoint without being criticized for it. In the end, what emerges is better software and better understanding on both sides.

And hey, I've always enjoyed exposing myself... ;-)

Dave