For those of you not aware of what this is, here it is in a nutshell. When users work with Daylite on a LAN, there is a server, and client copies of Daylite connect to that server to access the database. But because that data is so rich, detailed, and plain old LARGE, there had to be a way to access that while away from the office without trying to link to that database over intermittent and sometimes slow internet connections. As opposed to trying to build some web-based implementation, Marketcircle crafted an “offline” mode. When a user would get ready to leave their office LAN for the day, or for travel, and wanted to have their Daylite info go with them, they would choose a menu items to take their login of Daylite into “offline” mode. A local copy of pretty much the entire database would be created onto their Mac, and then they could have access to that data regardless of whether or not they had an internet connection. This was great for working on a plane, a bus, or anywhere that WiFi access was poor or spotty. Once there was an internet connection, the user could sync their offline with the live online database, and all changes, the ones they’d made on their offline, and the ones other users had been making to the main database, would sync.

This was a good solution that worked for most users, but could be problematic. If the database was large, with many thousands of contacts, and many users were making a lot of changes, those offline syncs could potentially take a long time. And if one of those long syncs was interrupted, with a bad or slow wifi connection in an airport, for example, there was a risk that data could get corrupted. Or, that the user’s offline database would be sort of half synced, and then not function. Users might then wait for another oportunity to sync again, at which point the changes needed to sync would be larger, and require a longer sync.

Marketcircle has been very aware of the weakness of their sync in regards to this scenario, and have been working diligently to solve it. With the release of Daylite 3.10, they have. I have been participating in the Daylite 3.10 beta testing program for several weeks now, and couldn’t be more thrilled at the change. The big difference is that Daylite will perform constant, regular tiny background “whisper” syncs every 5 minutes. In addition to making their sync consistency checks more robust, the automatic syncs work so well, that users can now just go offline, and forget about it. Their data gets updated within a few minutes, and the other users users their changes as well.

It seems like a simple and obvious thing when described this way, but with all software development, the devil is in the details. Getting this to work so well and so smoothly was a lot of work, and finally the online/offline system is working in the way Marketcircle had always hoped it would. I really appreciate them targeting issues like this that are important from end user’s point of view, and making Daylite even more pleasant to use.

For more details you can read the full release notes here.

I’ll be downloading and testing the beta with Snow Leopard on release day, and I’ll let you know how it goes.

The much anticipated Daylite 3.9 was released last week by Marketcircle. DL 3.9 is a major upgrade, with an under-the-hood database engine change (out with OpenBase, in with PostgreSQL), a new Daylite Server component, and support for the new iPhone companion application Daylite Touch. One week in, the transition has gone smoothly for most, with just a few hiccups (mostly from early adopters not reading the instructions!). I have been busy upgrading clients all week. With so many changes, it would take a lot of space to summarize them all here. However, here’s a GREAT write up — very readable —  with nice screenshots, that explain the whole thing in good detail. It will answer most of your “what’s new” and “why should I care” questions. Give it a read.

The bottom line, however, is that Daylite 3.9 is faster, more robust, and modern under the hood than were previous versions of Daylite. For you, this means faster searches, faster online/offline syncing, and more reliable communication with iSync/Address Book/iCal/MobileMe. It means a better Daylite experience for users with larger numbers of contacts and items. And it means that Daylite has a very, very powerful architechture that will allow it to grow, adapt, and add new features going forward. Marketcircle is so focused on getting Daylite users to this new version, that they are announcing they are ending support for DL 3.8 and earlier as of June 2009! Did I mention that for all current Daylite users, upgrading to Daylite 3.9 is free? And that Daylite Server is free?

Daylite Touch

The part of the release that is getting the most attention, of course, is Daylite Touch. DLT is a companion application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that connects directly to your Daylite Server. It will display your Daylite contacts, calendars, projects, opportunities, appointments, notes, tasks, etc etc, and allow to add/edit/delete these items in a powerful, flexible way, right on your iPhone. No more will you need to rely on chain of interconnected parts of 1) Daylite syncing to Mac OS, 2) then to Address Book/iCal, 3) then to MobileMe, 4) then to your iPhone. DLT talks directly to your Daylite Server, all in one step. You can download Daylite Touch right now from the iTunes App store for free, and try it out with the sample database. However, to run it with your database, the cost is $49/device/year. This is the first time Marketcircle has offered a “subscription” type of license, thus the “per year”.

With the arrival of DLT, Daylite and iPhone users can finally feel secure about leaving that laptop at the office, and still being in control and informed about their business while on the go.

Also, if you’re thinking of purchasing licenses from Marketcircle for Dayliet, Daylite Touch, or Billings, please don’ forget to do so through my Marketcircle affiliate link. Doing so will help me get a small “recommenders fee” — thanks!

- In Daylite, find an email note.
- Right click, or Control-click on the note, and choose “Email Selected Note“,
- or choose Action -> “Email Selected Note” from the menu.

That’s pretty cool.

As many of you know, I recently returned from the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco. I’ve attended pretty much every year. This year’s event was preceded by the announcement that it would be Apple’s last year at the show, after 25 years, and that Apple CEO Steve Jobs would not be delivering the keynote (which was due to his ill health). While much was made in the press about this, it didn’t hamper the enthusiasm at the show. It was still the ultimate gathering place for hardware and software developers, and professionals in the Macintosh community to meet, network, and learn. For UGUtech, it is all those things, as well as a place for the Apple Consultants Network to hold their annual business meeting, training events and networking. It’s an extremely productive trip for my business, as it gives me the chance to meet developers and engineers face to face, see their new and updated offering, and learn about new developments for my clients. This year was no exception, and I learned a lot for both myself and my clients. I even volunteered to staffMarketCircle’s booth for an afternoon, where they were showing Daylite, Daylite Touch, and Billings. It was a great experience where I had the chance to test my knowledge and skills of MarketCircle’s applications, what they do, and how they work, all to a steady stream of interested attendees.

While the future of Macworld 2010 is up in the air, due to both industry trends away from trade shows and Apple’s pull-out, I feel strongly that there is a chance of a good Macworld 2010 without Apple, or that some other meeting ground for the Apple and Mac community will take its place. If there’s another one, I’ll likely be there.

Daylite Touch and Daylite 3.9

On Monday Jan 4th I attended a Daylite Partners meeting hosted by MarketCircle, makers of Daylite. They gave us a sneek peek and tech demo on their new project, Daylite Touch. DT is a companion application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that allows mobile integration with Daylite. Tasks, appointments, projects, and contacts are all synced over wifi or mobile networks. It will be a paid add-on, and will require the soon be released free upgrade to Daylite 3.9, which in itself is full of massive improvements in syncing accuracy and speed. These improvements are due mainly to the fact that DL 3.9 no longer uses the OpenBasedatabase engine as its back end; it has been replaced withPostgreSQL, and much more powerful and modern database. What that means to you is speed, stability, better sync, and no more having to put license codes in each copy of Daylite… it all goes into just Daylite server!

Watch an interview with Marketcircle CEO Alykhan Jetha, founder of MarketCircle, as he explains Daylite Touch from the Macworld show floor

LightSpeed 3

I also attended a training and product announcement for LightSpeed partners and resellers. If you’re not familiar with it, LightSpeed is the most fantastic Point of Sale (POS) applications for small business out there, Mac or Windows (LS is Mac only). It has been called “the point-of-sale (POS) software that has more in common with iTunes than with any business software you’ve ever seen” ( — MacVoices).

I am a LightSpeed partner, and was there to learn about their new 3.0 release. In short, there were a lot of welcome improvements, like a new POS screen, designed for faster transactions, multisotre integration, supports for debit cards and USB PIN pad hardware, and a completely rebuilt WebStore 2.0.Listen to an interview with Xsilva CEO and founder Dax Dasilva as he talks about Lightspeed on MacVoices, and DO take a quick look at the LightSpeed quick tour video.