Readeware Newsletter 2.985

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Welcome to the Readerware^® Newsletter

Readerware 2.985 is now shipping. Ready for Windows 7, new 32 bit and 64 bit downloads and more.

Plus from the knowledge base, getting Lexile information with Readerware.

Visit the Readerware Newsletter archive, all back issues of the newsletter are online.

Readerware 2.985 Now Shipping

Release 2.985 is now available for all products (Readerware, ReaderwareAW and ReaderwareVW), and all platforms, (Windows, Mac OS X and Linux). A full list of the changes included in 2.985 is available online:

Readerware 2.985 changes

Some of the highlights in 2.985.

Readerware 2.985 is ready for Windows 7

Readerware 2.985 runs with Mac OS X 10.6, Snow Leopard. Readerware of course continues to support older releases of OS X for those of you who do not have Intel Macs.

Fixed a problem accessing secure sites. As more sites now use secure connections for everyday use this was causing some lookups to fail.

Fixed a printer selection problem, Readerware was having trouble printing to anything other then the default printer.

Serial scanner support is now working again on Linux

Download Readerware 2.985

Upgrade policy

Most of you know this by now, Readerware 2.985 is a free upgrade. All 2.x upgrades are free.

You can always download the latest 2.x release for free. If you ever want the latest version on CD, you can order it from the web site for $12.

Readerware CD

New downloads

Readerware 2.985 is now available in 32 bit and 64 bit distributions.

Rather than duplicate all the existing 32 bit downloads in 64 bit mode, we have reduced the number of downloads to make things simpler.

Windows

The international build has been eliminated, all Windows downloads now contain full international support.

The downloads are smaller due to improved compression technology.

To upgrade simply install the latest version over your current Readerware installation. This will upgrade Readerware but will not touch your database.

On Windows x64 systems you can choose the 32 or 64 bit builds.

Mac OS X

The Mac download page now lets you download all three products together or as individual products.

When upgrading Readerware, do not drag your current Readerware applications to the trash can. Run the installer as normal, this will update your current installation but will not touch your database.

There is only the one set of downloads for Mac OS X. On 64 bit machines, Readerware will automatically run in 64 bit mode. If you want to run in 32 bit mode use Get Info on the application icon and check "Open in 32-bit mode".

Linux

On Linux you typically have to choose the 64 bit downloads on a 64 bit system.

Readerware Download Page

New in the Readerware knowledge base

The Readerware knowledge base is updated regularly with new articles.

One recent addition is an article on how you can get Lexile measures when cataloging with Readerware.

A Lexile® is a measure given to both readers and reading materials using the widely adopted Lexile Framework® for Reading. Recognized by many states and educational organizations as the most accurate way to assess a child's reading ability and the difficulty of text, Lexile measures enable educators and families to match a child's Lexile measure with the Lexile measure of a book in order to select materials that meet and challenge the child's unique reading ability.

Barnes & Noble is the first bookseller to offer Lexile measures in their listings. B&N shoppers will see the Lexile measure on the listing page and can use it to help them decide on the right books for their children. Look for it under "Product Details" in the Overview section. With Readerware you can now get the Lexile measure when you catalog or update from B&N. See the knowledge base article for more information.

The Readerware knowledge base is always just a click away, look for the Knowledge base/FAQ link in the navigation panel on every page of the web site.

Can Readerware get the Lexile measure for a book?
Access the Readerware knowledge base
What is a Lexile measure?
Sample Barnes & Noble listing with Lexile measure

Ten years of Readerware

Believe it or not it has been ten years since the release of Readerware 1.0 in September 1999.

Readerware was the first, a simple idea, scan a barcode and use this new world wide web thing to catalog a book. Ten years and 113 releases later Readerware is used by collectors, sellers, schools, churches, libraries and other organizations all over the world to catalog and manage their book, music & video collections.

Thank you for your support and constant feedback, Readerware would not be where it is today without you.

But enough of resting on our laurels, where is Readerware 3.0? We were a little optimistic to say the least, about the arrival of the Readerware 3.0 beta in the last newsletter. I know it sounds like Readerware 3.0 is a candidate for the vaporware hall of fame, but it is coming.

I apologize for the delay.

Enough celebrating, its back to work on Readerware 3.0. Stay tuned...

History of the barcode

The New York Times recently had an interesting article marking the 35th birthday of the barcode.

Originally designed to speed up the supermarket checkout line, the barcode is now everywhere tracking inventory through factories, passengers on airplanes, even cataloging books.

One common misconception about the barcode is that it contains information like the author and title of a book, but as the article points out the barcode gives nothing more than “an address to look up information” in a database.

Back in 1974 some predicted the life of the barcode would be short, soon plain text would be machine readable and there would be no need for the barcode. You would think by now there would be a small hand held scanner that would reliably read the printed ISBN from a book, but even today the barcode is the easiest way to catalog books, music and video.

According to the article a barcode is scanned more than 10 billion times every day, exactly how many of those are scanned into Readerware is unknown Smile

Game Changer in Retailing, Bar Code Is 35 (New York Times)

Readerware support

There is nothing more important than answering your questions and suggestions. You can always e-mail support@readerware.com and expect a prompt reply. You will receive a reply within 12 hours maximum, normally a lot sooner. Unfortunately e-mail communications are not as reliable as they once were. Spam and the various schemes people have dreamed up to combat spam are interfering with normal e-mail communications.

If you have not received a response to your support request within 12 hours, something has gone wrong.

Check any Spam or message filters, the response may be there.
Check with your ISP or system administrator. Sites are implementing various defense mechanisms which often block legitimate e-mail.
If you are using a challenge system, please check to see if your response is being held. We do try and respond to challenge e-mail, but it can mean your response is delayed.

If you have not received a response within 12 hours, don't wait any longer, send a follow up e-mail. If possible try and include an alternate e-mail address. We will re-send your answer from another e-mail server to all addresses you specify.

Obviously Spam is a real problem. But it is important to realize that none of the defense mechanisms are anywhere near 100% accurate. There is nothing more frustrating for you than feeling ignored, you aren't being ignored. Every e-mail you send is answered promptly. From this end there is nothing more frustrating than taking the time to create a reply that is never seen and then getting a "why aren't you responding" e-mail a couple of days later.

All support e-mail is answered within 12 hours, if you don't get that response, check your anti-spam measures and try again.

Thanks.

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