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Logbook Pro & APDL Newsletter March 2006 Edition

In this Newsletter:

Logbook Pro 1.10 Public Beta Available (PC/Palm)

We are proud to announce that Logbook Pro's next update (free to all registered customers) is now ready for public beta testing.  This is one of the most significant updates in a very long time!  As you can see from the picture above, we've updated the user-interface to that of the Office 2003 style.  In fact, from the View menu, you can choose one of four different menu styles and set the look and feel of Logbook Pro to your liking.  Logbook Pro 1.10 brings a slew of new features and updates to an already rock solid aviation logbook program. 

We have a brand new PDA Wizard which now handles synchronization of all of our PDA logbooks.  We realize there is confusion by the prior "Import PDA" button and how to sync APDL to Logbook Pro as an example, that confusion is a thing of the past!  APDL users, SingleSync is no longer required and is now obsolete with the APDL synchronization system driven entirely from Logbook Pro.  Not only is this system more reliable, but also affords much more flexibility in importing data from APDL including data ranges, mapping of Crew, Hotel, Flight Number, and Trip number, etc.  We maintained the legacy features of SingleSync with the APDL Legacy Reports (and CSV generation), try it out, put the PDA Wizard to the test.

Logbook Pro's Palm Companion no longer requires a $25 CrossFire Client Runtime license, all users can now update to the latest Palm edition and use the fastest runtime engine FREE!  This is great news for Treo users that once had to purchase an additional $25 license, although a small fee, one that we did not want to burden our customers with.  Read the article below for more information.

Logbook Pro's Pocket PC Companion is being completely rewritten to use the .NET Compact Framework version 2 which will support Windows Mobile 5 and any version of ActiveSync, and even support screen rotation!  Although not yet available, it is expected to enter private beta early next week, followed by public beta availability.

A brief summary of changes in Logbook Pro 1.10 include, but are not limited to:

  •  New user-interface and menu option View…Menu Style offering Office 2003 and Visual Studio 2005 “look and feel” along with the older style menu and toolbar systems
     
  •  A brand new PDA Wizard!  Much easier synchronization of PDA data to Logbook Pro and eliminate confusion of how to sync Logbook Pro vs. Airline Pilot’s Daily Aviation Logbook (APDL).  APDL’s SingleSync is now obsolete as all synchronization features are now integrated directly within Logbook Pro’s PDA Wizard.  We’ve also boosted the features for synchronizing APDL with the ability to map in columns such as Crew, Hotel, Trip Number, and Flight Number.  Better A/C Type lookups from N-Numbers, and more advanced Date Filtering with more flexible options easily configurable from the PDA Wizard interface.
     
  •  FAA 8710 report updated to fix two bugs:  1) Other checkbox remaining checked, and 2) Flight Log rows with both a Duration and SIM entry were ignored
     
  •  Currency Editor bug when a History Event is created in the Options…History area then used in configuring a currency but the actual History event was never used, i.e. not listed in the History data entry area
     
  •  New product update system, the InstallShield Update Service is no longer used.  All updates during the beta period will be tagged as “critical” to ensure immediate notification of every update made available.
     
  •  Time drop downs in the Spreadsheet style log were only allowing up to the Duration value minus 0.1, i.e. for a duration of 3.0 the max selectable value from a time drop down was 2.9.
     
  •  Help…About dialog revamped to provide details such as the actively used data file (at bottom)
     
  •  Detect and Repair functionality added to Start…Programs group if required to refresh the installation if problems are experienced, such as the backup system that sometimes fails with other software installs corrupting DLL’s in Windows (version conflicts)
     
  •  Analyzer columns slightly padded to allow more room to view larger numbers (column titles padded with spaces prefix/suffix)
     
  •  Updated registration system to prevent confusion with required information when activating licenses such as the requirement for name, unlock code, and e-mail address.

We invite your participation and feedback in our Logbook Pro 1.10 BETA forum.  Download links are as follows:

Thanks to all involved in your hard work and feedback making Logbook Pro what it is today.  I would like to make a special thanks to the 70+ members of our private beta team that worked extremely hard over the past several weeks with update after update in ironing out every conceivable issue, making this update one of the most tested to date!  Thank you!

We hope you enjoy our aviation software products including both Logbook Pro and Airline Pilot's Daily Aviation Logbook.  Visit us online at www.logbookpro.com.

PDA Users - CrossFire License fee is GONE!

Victory!  After a long and hard battle, we finally won our fight to provide you PDA software without having to pay an additional $25 CrossFire Client runtime license.  This only affected Treo (Palm Phone) users, however, it was unsettling that you may have had to pay for our software then have to turn around and spend another $25 for the AppForge device license.  Starting with our 1.10 release, and available now in the Logbook Pro Palm Companion Beta, we include the CrossFire version 6 engine FREE!  No hassle, just install, use, and fly!

The Logbook Pro Pocket PC Companion will no longer use AppForge for its runtime engine, therefore, we are able to eliminate CrossFire altogether and instead use Microsoft's "brand new" .NET Compact Framework*, just like our other Pocket PC Software - APDL (for airline pilots).  With the 1.10 update, we will support Windows Mobile 5, any version of ActiveSync, and even support landscape layout for those that want to experiment with Windows Mobile 5's screen rotation features (beware of vertigo!!). 

For those that want to try out the new CrossFire 6 engine which is faster than prior versions, you are invited to download our 1.10 Beta of the Logbook Pro Palm Companion today.

* - Want to prepare your Pocket PC for Logbook Pro 1.10?  Download the .NET Compact Framework v2 and install.  You may have to do a soft reset of your device after installing. (N/A for Palm OS users)

Cirrus Elite Corporation Acquires MGOent.

Cirrus Elite Corporation acquired MGO Enterprises and will now be the main supplier of our custom leather binders for Logbook Pro. There are no changes to products or pricing and you can continue to order the same high quality leather binder solutions as before.

It has been a great pleasure working with George Owen, founder of MGO Enterprises and being a part of their growth resulting in the sale to a larger corporation. As many know, George, a pilot himself, created the classic leather binders to preserve the nostalgia of the aviation logbook. As Logbook Pro continues to grow at record pace, George simply could not continue MGO Enterprises and his flying career at the same time. It also became difficult at times to provide customers timely production and delivery of the binder orders. Cirrus Elite Corporation is a full time company dedicated to customer service and continuing the high quality leather binders for Logbook Pro's Aviation Logbook software. With full time employees staffed to meet the demands of Logbook Pro's large user base, customers can now experience rapid turn around from order to shipment of their leather binder products. Cirrus Elite is also able to maintain a higher inventory to minimize backorders.

NC Software has been working with Cirrus Elite over the past several months to train staff on the product line and they are now up to speed and eager to provide their new customers excellent customer service per the high standard set by George of MGOent. Please note, customers may receive products with the MGOent brand until inventory rotates with the new brand by Cirrus Elite.

From NC Software's standpoint, this is exciting news and NC Software looks forward to many more years of supporting our outstanding customer base and ensure each and every pilot has an accurate and professional flight record for any calling.

See Cirrus Elite Online:  Full Size Carry Model Binders | Premier Leather Binders | Old-World Leather Binders

April 2nd Time Change - APDL Users Please Read

Daylight Savings begins on Apr. 2nd at 2:00 AM (USA). For a list of changes worldwide click here. On or after Apr 2nd, check "Daylight Savings is in effect" on the "Timezone Settings" preference page. If you are importing trips after April 2nd, wait until you have checked "Daylight Savings is in effect". If you have a trip that starts before April 2nd, Import the trip. Then switch to your Logbook Timezone, and manually correct the times after 2:00 am on April 2nd. The reverse will need to be done when we end DST in the fall.

InstallShield Update System Discontinued

On April 1st the software included with Logbook Pro 1.9.9 to check for updates will no longer work.  We have decided the InstallShield Update System we leased was not reliable enough to satisfy our quality of service.  We have built our own update service and this will be included in the updates rolling out in April.  PDA products will not have automatic notification of updates via the Update Manager any longer as update checking must be done manually from the Start...Programs menu area.  It is recommended to check for updates monthly as we continue development on our products assuring the highest quality at all times.  The InstallShield Update system will be automatically removed with the installation of the new versions upon release this coming month.  Thank you for your patience while we rotate the software updates when they complete testing.

APDL Schedule Importer 6.1.2 Coming Soon

We hope you enjoy our free schedule importer software now supporting over 88 airline trip formats, available in both a web based schedule importer and our stand-alone Windows edition.  Airlines continue to "tweak" their schedule formats which we have to follow up with our schedule importer system updates, which we aggressively update to ensure you are always able to import your trips into APDL.  Our typical rotation is a 45-day update cycle unless conditions warrant otherwise.  SouthWest and a few others "re-tweaked" yet again just after our recent 6.1.1 update so we are working hard on the 6.1.2 update which will be out in just a few more days.  The 6.1.1 release of the APDL Schedule Importer includes our new software update system, therefore starting around Monday of next week, do a daily check for updates from the Start...Programs menu area of APDL Schedule Importer or monitor our Version Info page for the version to reflect 6.1.2, the next update.

We are excited to continue to grow our support for any airline we possibly can.  If your airline or trip format is not yet supported, please let us know!  We strictly use "by trip" information and not by month for our importer, please submit as many samples as you can when requesting your airline/trip format to be supported. 

Logbook Pro & APDL Version Reference

Click any product title to download the latest version now.

* - 1.10 Update now in beta, available from top article in this newsletter