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Last post Author Topic: GemX - missing in action  (Read 266776 times)

datamill

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #225 on: October 21, 2007, 02:37 PM »
Armando,

You're right, of course.  The passion of users around ECCO and DO as organizers is pretty remarkable. 


Josh

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #226 on: October 21, 2007, 02:53 PM »
Firefox anyone? Linux anyone? Mac Evangelists anyone?

Beth UK

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #227 on: October 21, 2007, 02:56 PM »
The passion of users around ECCO and DO as organizers is pretty remarkable. 

It is quite remarkable - but I guess the scope and depth of software like Ecco or DO means that people 'embed' more of themselves into it. DO contains a journal, notes, reminders, contacts, email and many other products of our daily lives. Users put more of themselves into this software in very real ways, trusting its security and longevity. It becomes a 'virtual' container for organization and lifestyle, and may explain the depth of emotional attachment. The more you put in, the harder it becomes to -re-attach to something else (another program). So, in trusting so much personal information to a single piece of software you are also forming a trust relationship with the developers also - a relationship which, if it goes sour, can create feelings almost touching on rejection.

End hypothesis...  8)


Armando

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #228 on: October 21, 2007, 03:12 PM »
Users put more of themselves into this software in very real ways, trusting its security and longevity.
[slightly off-topic]
That's one reason why I tried to find out what is that "internal industrial strength GemX DobermanDB™ database engine". Any DO-O user can help me with that one?[/slightly off-topic]

zak11000

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #229 on: October 21, 2007, 06:20 PM »
I think you may have a point Beth although I wouldnt go as far as calling it a "rejection". But I agree that its more the fact that you spent a lot of time transferring your personal information into the product and replacing other software with it - and you spent a lot of time getting used to the product. So it becomes a part of your daily life because so much of your personal information has been transferred. And you wouldn't have done that if you didn't feel you could rely on the stability and long-livity of the product and integrity of the developers. Then things happen and you find otherwise. Of course you are going to be pissed off... I think if any of the developers of any of the more well known PIMs just dissapeared without an explanation for months their users would be just as angry. Dont think is a do-Organizer specific situation.
« Last Edit: October 21, 2007, 06:33 PM by zak11000 »

JaneDC

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #230 on: October 26, 2007, 12:03 PM »
So what are you guys gona do? Stop using the software? How about all the data you have collected?

Seeing all these posts actually made me try the software earlier. Overall it seems nice. What bothered me was the sluggish interface, and a bit heavy on resources.

Well, hope this isnt the end. and if they do continue the development, hope they first try to improve current features rather than go on and add new ones.

Josh

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #231 on: October 26, 2007, 01:46 PM »
What am I going to do? I am moving to a new dedicated device which blows Do-O out of the water. I am now working with a Palm TX.

sigh...

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #232 on: October 26, 2007, 03:35 PM »
So what are you guys gona do? Stop using the software? How about all the data you have collected?


JaneDC, DO has or rather, had so much potential!!  it was everything and more that i wanted and needed - i have still been searching for something that will superbly take its place, but so far, no luck - at least none that are already out there.

what i have found (and posted some time ago) is Nighthawk  (http://www.nowsoftwa...ex.html#SlideFrame_1) and i am impatiently waiting for it to be released.  i have joined the company's forum and am giving my suggestions for it.  we will see.....

i need multicalendars working side by side REALLY, REALLY bad - DO is the only one that does this exactly the way i need them, so for now, i am reluctantly using it.

plus, i shelled out $179 dollars for it 3 years ago......sigh....
What you allow, you encourage...

Armando

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #233 on: October 27, 2007, 02:03 AM »
What am I going to do? I am moving to a new dedicated device which blows Do-O out of the water. I am now working with a Palm TX.
Tell us more, Josh. :)

Josh

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #234 on: October 27, 2007, 10:00 AM »
Well, the Palm TX is a standard palm pilot. Palm's have always been very complete and easy to use when it comes to the functionality provided. Contact management, calendar, todo, email, and whatever else you can think of. Its a very handy way to keep track of your schedule. Yes, it costs a bit more (although a base model Palm Z22 costs about 99 dollars US which is still cheaper when compared to Do-O with similar modules.

After using previous palm models, and playing with the new one I received yesterday, I have to recommend a Palm Pilot over Do-O any day. You pay less for the base model of a palm pilot than you would for the same features in Do-O.

Armando

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #235 on: October 27, 2007, 10:46 AM »
I have a z22, which is all I need for basic contact management, calendar, todo, email, etc. It's more a complement to my computer, than a self-sufficient all in one solution.

Do-O could have been a nice addition to my z22 setup (offering subtasking + some kind of integrated project management) if it could've synchronized with the palm (and be less buggy)... unfortunately it can't.

As it is, the "palm desktop" software alone can't really do advanced subtasking or project planning easily. To do that, one has to buy separate software, like keysuite, agendus, bonsai, etc. But, frankly, those don't all play that well with famous PC organizers... Except for Keysuite <--> Outlook, and/but unfortunately Outlook is severely handicapped when it comes to subtasks and projects (I find).

Only to say, i guess, that... I still haven't found the "best" way.
« Last Edit: October 27, 2007, 10:48 AM by Armando »

Darwin

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #236 on: October 28, 2007, 09:53 AM »
Hmm... logging into the registered users section of gemx STILL allows me to download both the registration key and the full Do-Organizer suite, despite the fact that I received a refund for it two weeks ago. I dropped gemx a DSM to express my feelings about the two month blackout that occurred (as background to WHY I initiated the refund request) and then pointed out that I still have access to installers and registration keys for software that I no longer have any right to... I'm curious about their response (if any - I have yet to receive any response at all to any of the attempts at communication that I made during their lost weekend!).

Chessnia

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #237 on: October 29, 2007, 10:00 PM »
First of all, Mr. Michael Plant, whoever you are on these forums, thank you very much for sending me the link to this forum, that was a great gesture, I appreciate it more than you can imagine.  :Thmbsup:
What's been happening with GEMx is really unbelieveable. Not in a thousand years could I have imagined that out *of all the many, and I really do mean MANY* alternatives that they had, they actually chose to close down their forums the way they did.
I must admit that despite the fact that I've been using GEMX products for longer than I can probably remember, I'm not a particularly advanced user, and I don't really need the program to do much more than it already does.
Like many other users, before the gemx forum opened up, I'd been writing to Peter for months suggesting that he opened up a forum, so when it first opened, it was fantastic news.
I'm an experienced forum administrator (I've been running sites with Invisionboard ever since the product came out, and I do mean that literally) and although I didn't think SMF (simple machines forum, the forum software) was a good choice for GEMX, as months went by the forum became (at least to me) a truely wonderful place to visit. For the first time in many years, I had the opportunity to get a look at how some really talented people used GEMX in ways which I hadn't even imagined. It was like if I suddenly had the opportunity to take a quick look at how their minds worked, and it was impressive...  I had so much to learn! Yes, it was a fountain of ideas and suggestions to help us improve the use of an already impressive product.
In all honesty -and this has to do with the fact that I mentioned earlier on, that I didn't particularly need new versions of the software- I found other users contributions to the forum a lot more important than staff replies.
Yes... a company's strength is its people, the people who work for it, of course, but also the customers, the people that are close to it. This is as basic a principle as you can get in any successful business.
GEMX had many alternatives, but chose the most absurd. Gemx could have announced that it could no longer put the man hours for the forum maintenance, but it would keep the forum open. In fact, this has actually happened with many, many companies (One that comes to mind is Qalcom's Eudora). Other users can provide support to newcomers, and the staff can simply answer - ocassionally, on weekends even - the most urgent posts. It's a self-fed system.
Moderation could be arranged to be performed by users.
A less friendly option (but one which is currently used by many companies) was to mindmap a strategy, somewhere along the lines of: we're gong to increase our database of forum users until we reach, say, 2000, and at that point we'll create 2 sections in the forum: the "free zone", available to all users and even guests, and a "premium users zone", where a staff member would be posting and answering on a regular basis. When buying GEMX products, you have the option of paying a little extra to access the premium users zone.
Ok, I know this option would not have been very popular amongst many users, but with a little extra money, perhaps GEMX could have afforded to pay someone else to do the job, or perhaps the current stuff members wouldn't have minded dong the extra hours for some extra money.
Another alternative was to offer someone else the possibility of hosting a support forum for GEMX, and leave the one at GEMX open until the change took place. Many people would have been interested, (maybe even myself!) because the group of people who use GEMX products represents a fountain of unimaginable wealth: ideas, willingness to support others, willingness to learn and willingness to share with others. God, GEMX, can't you see something so bloody obvious??. You can't destroy the bridges that allowed me to communicate with other outstanding minds, you had no right to destroy that, no, no way, you did not, because something so valuable simply doesn't belong to you, do you understand GEMX??? YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TAKE THAT AWAT FROM ME, YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO TAKE THAT AWAY FROM US WITHOUT ANY WARNING WHATSOEVER. DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING???   >:(

Ok, I've said it. :)
I breath deeply now.
I'm not upset.
Nope I'm not. :)

My main worry with GEMX started when they announced the email module (I've never used it because my email needs are well covered with other software). I've been using Eudora for more than 10 years, and I knew that many people worked for Eudora, and Eudora had bugs, and Eudora was being developed continually, and the amazing people who created Eudora couldn't cope with all the work, because being a programmer or coder is really tough and complicated.
So, I was thinking somewhere along the lines of: if only one person is in charge of Do-organizer and the email module of do-organizer is simply one of the many that compose do-organizer, how can they (he????) possibly keep up to date with all the bugs and development? it's simply impossible! And my conclussion was that GEMX simply was not aware of what it had in its hands... and the following thought kept bouncing in my head: "you can never excell at too many things, concentrate on a few and keep improving them".
Add to that the forum maintenance... (forum users grew out of proportion in a very short period of time, something which perhaps gemx had not anticipated). What was about to happen was just a question of time, it was easy to see it coming.

However, despite these decissions (I'd call them "strategic mistakes, but that's just my opinion), what are we left with?
If we think coldly, perhaps things are not so bad. Version 3.09 is a little better than the previous one, so at least some progress is being made.
Like many of you, I've spent hundreds of hours searching and testing pim software. So far it works for me. Perhaps one day I'll change, but that day hasn't come yet.
As for forum support, hey, we use "do-organizer" and its "mind-planner". How about if we organize our oun "resistance"? can we take off again with renewed strenght? Can we create our own forum, a forum that will not close down no matter what, a forum where we can help each other and talk about Do-organizer and gemx products and even other pims? GTD?  who knows? ;)

By the way, many years ago, before I got to use GEMX products, I purchased "Winorganizer", a similar product which had similar development problems. Actually, they were much worse, a lot worse! and that's why I eventually gave up on them.

Anyway, whatever happens, let me just say that it is a great pleasure to be able to talk to you guys again and, at least to me, that has no price!   ;)

Javier.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2007, 12:30 AM by Chessnia »

Darwin

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #238 on: October 29, 2007, 11:41 PM »
Javier - welcome to Donationcoder and thank you for sharing your experiences and thoughts. Good to see you here!

JaneDC

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #239 on: October 31, 2007, 11:45 AM »
I hope the folks at gemx see this thread.

Darwin

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #240 on: October 31, 2007, 04:03 PM »
I don't think that they're actively monitoring it, but there is some evidence to suggest that they've visited it in the past...

Darwin

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #241 on: November 01, 2007, 08:29 AM »
Bizarre. I posted earlier in this thread about DSM'ing gemx to alert them to the fact that despite receiving a refund, Do-organizer 3.09 and a registration key are still available in my download area. Four days ago they replied with: "Thank you" (that's the entire response to a three paragraph missive that was entirely positive - I would have thought a refreshing change...) and yet the downloads are STILL there  :o?! Oh well, I did my bit.

Josh

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #242 on: November 01, 2007, 09:18 AM »
Darwin,

This is why I have lost respect for GemX. They dont read half the stuff they reply to, or they just briefly skim it and send a generic reply. That is not a way to treat paying customers. Perhaps the DSM service is too much work, ala the forums.

Darwin

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #243 on: November 01, 2007, 11:58 AM »
Yes - it is a bit alarming that they took the time to respond to my DSM but didn't even bother to remove me from the database of registered Do-Organizer users. Indicates that all is not well at GemX still... I hope they get things sorted out and back on track soon. I *think* that they've lost a significant, even HUGE, number of users over this and will likely need to build up another user base. They've a long, hard slog ahead of them. I still have a (paid for!) licence for TexNotes Pro so will continue to monitor the situation. Can't say I'm holding my breath, though.

Darwin

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #244 on: November 21, 2007, 05:12 PM »
[beating dead horse alert] Just checked logged in to check my user area at gemx and note that Do-Organizer and a licence for it are still available for me to download. Bizarre. [/beating dead horse alert]

PPLandry

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #245 on: December 01, 2007, 11:38 PM »
4) Notekeepers and Outliners: I'm a crazy fanatic of outliners.

If you're a fanatic of outliners, you must know Ecco Pro? Perhaps the best one-pane outliner + grid...
You may want to checkout www.sqlnotes.net. It is a rich text one-pane outliner + grid, custom folders, forms, notepads, same as Ecco. Plus many improved features. It is completely free while in beta!
Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present -- Albert Camus -- www.InfoQube.biz

JaneDC

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #246 on: December 11, 2007, 12:53 PM »
Have any of you found something similar to do-organizer? I like the all in one, linked, integrated approach. Im looking for something that has similar functions with that of the calendar module in do-organizer.

No news from the developers?

Darwin

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #247 on: December 11, 2007, 01:04 PM »
As Pierre noted, check out SQLNotes (though it isn't the all in one solution you are looking for... yet!).

Superboyac and Pierre have been discussing the calendar this morning - read their dialogue starting with this message: https://www.donation...32.msg90399#msg90399

sigh...

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #248 on: December 12, 2007, 08:51 PM »
one that i have been "monitoring" for some time now (this year) is shown below.  i think it has great promise when it gets released - in beta right now. i need to get some time to respond to one of the main developers about some questions that i posed  - particularly something that i need the program (called Nighthawk) to do - have mulitple calendars and be able to have the multiple calendars show side by side and A LOT of customizations within the program.

he is very eager to see the screen captures - i just need to take some time to send them to him

here is the link to the site:

http://www.nowsoftwa...ex.html#SlideFrame_1
What you allow, you encourage...

Darwin

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Re: GemX - missing in action
« Reply #249 on: December 12, 2007, 08:58 PM »
Wow! Nighthawk is visually stunning. I'll add it to my "watch" list  :Thmbsup: Thanks for the link, sigh.