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Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

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    #31
    Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

    Oh, I have downloaded it Mike, and I do print out parts sometimes. But not all 8579 pages! even though I luckily have a laser printer.
    And it's not always easy to find your way around.
    I believe that all instructional material should be tried out on (semi)novices who can give useful feedback, but with many products that just doesn't happen.
    On looking up a topic in HELP one is all too often immediately swamped with a torrent of Xbasic: good for the expert but not for the beginner who relies mainly on ActionScripting. Put the XBasic at the end of each topic perhaps.
    As you know, I can confirm how useful the messageboard is! And thank those who share their expertise.
    In an ideal world there would be a product called Alpha 2.5 with a reduced instruction set etc. which newbies could cut their teeth on until they had good basic knowledge. Just my fantasy!

    Robin

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      #32
      Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

      :)
      But not all 8579 pages!
      and I believe many more pages are available in addition to those (got that 20K figure from somewhere I know!). But like you said, any additional are most likely dealing with xbasic and such so would not be of interest to you.

      a reduced instruction set etc. which newbies could cut their teeth on until they had good basic knowledge
      This is where I think most new users have a hard time especially now with each version increasing the feature list---version 5 is a great version to start out on....all the basic features....still a lot to learn, but not as confusing as it must be now.

      So many users are trying to use the advanced features right away without learning the basics....but then not entirely their fault either as nothing is pointed out to them that they are the more advanced features.

      I could go on and on as I do but points made am sure!! :D
      Mike
      __________________________________________
      It is only when we forget all our learning that we begin to know.
      It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.
      Henry David Thoreau
      __________________________________________



      Comment


        #33
        Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

        I don't know what long term holds, but I know several 'Alphaholics' that have slowed down providing help on this board. I know I have recently skipped over many I would have answered in the past. It's just getting old, especially when answering the same questions or needing to start from scratch in order to answer a more difficult question where the poster does not have the basics (as you suggested Mike). I don't like passing up opportunities to assist fellow developers and its hard to watch as threads occassionally go back and forth on bad advice (not to discount the effort).

        I fear V10 will have a negative effect on this. There are so many new enhanced ways to do things (web) that users, especially new users, will completely skip learning the basics. Part of the basics are 'knowing how Alpha works' which does not come from deploying the latest widget. I will continue to apply the basics to my work, with V10 enhancements as icing on the cake.

        To bring my comment around, this is one of the reasons IADN was formed, to come at these issues from a new angle.
        Steve Wood
        See my profile on IADN

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          #34
          Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

          Originally posted by MikeC View Post
          ...version 5 is a great version to start out on....all the basic features....still a lot to learn, but not as confusing as it must be now...
          Many software companies release a free version of their software - normally an older version or one with limited features. Not shareware, just free, as a way of increasing their user base and getting upgrade sales to the latest version.

          (Didn't Alpha just do something similar? I recently got a free copy of v9 standard just for signing up to the newsletter)

          Then why not distribute the free version to schools and colleges. Today's students are tomorrow's IT Professionals.
          Kind Regards
          Alan

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            #35
            Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

            Originally posted by Robin Hoare View Post
            Yes Tom, the books with VB are big but they are useful. Each volume is 1000+ pages.
            Robin, I have several of those books on my shelf and several about Access... big books indeed but size doesn't make up for content. I gave up buying them because I realized they are simply regurgitations of the help file in printed form. My litmus test for buying a VB or Access book became picking a little known function or procedure and seeing if the index contained a reference to it - they never did.

            However, many of these book are aimed at first time users... "how to create a table", "how to create a query". After 30+ years of creating tables it's not what I want and it's not required for anyone. The information that MS provides is more than adequate. Book are there to sell, not necessarily to help.

            I prefer to rely on people here to help me figure out how I can best use a function or control. Perhaps not what they were designed for, but how creatively people use them - that's the real power. No matter how great the documentation for A5 gets it will never replace the willingness and knowledge of this board's members. Ramble ends.

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              #36
              Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

              Then why not distribute the free version to schools and colleges. Today's students are tomorrow's IT Professionals.
              Been saying this for years!


              .
              Dave Mason
              [email protected]
              Skype is dave.mason46

              Comment


                #37
                Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

                Originally posted by Davidk View Post
                My litmus test for buying a VB or Access book became picking a little known function or procedure and seeing if the index contained a reference to it - they never did. However, many of these book are aimed at first time users... "how to create a table", "how to create a query". After 30+ years of creating tables it's not what I want and it's not required for anyone.
                I've for some time being studying Jungian psychology, and one of the (unremarkable!) conclusions is that we are all different in our thinking processes. When I am a first time user I expect books, and get a lot out of them. Help files though useful are, for me, not a substitute.

                Comment


                  #38
                  Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

                  Originally posted by seaken64 View Post
                  Why don't we start a Wiki? I've never done it but from what I understand it will allow a dynamic interchange of information. For instance, if a help file does not have enough detail the wiki participants could elaborate and share all the detail needed and thoroughly explain the concepts. The wiki could be linked to the forum, even allowing the search mechanism to point to wiki articles in addition to forum posts.

                  How difficult would this be to implement? Some PHP? Maybe we should encourage a knowledge database be created using Alpha Five, complete with associated Forum and Wiki. I don't really know how to implement this type of thing but I'm sure some people here do. Will Alpha Software donate the server space for this, as they do with the Forum?

                  Sean
                  An Official Alpha Five Wiki with all the documentation for Alpha Five will be launched in the next few weeks!
                  Richard Rabins
                  Co Chairman
                  Alpha Software

                  Comment


                    #39
                    Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

                    Richard, just my opinion, a Wiki with 'all of the documentation' is of the same value as the existing documentation. How is this Wiki different? The complaints here are not that you don't have documentation.
                    Steve Wood
                    See my profile on IADN

                    Comment


                      #40
                      Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

                      There has been significant work done in organizing the documentation - we hired an outside documentation specialist.

                      One of the great benefits of a WIKI is searching has been greatly enhanced and also like WIKIPEDIA content (text and video) can be contributed by the Alpha Community

                      In addition WIKI's have very good SEO profiles so this WIKI will enhance Alpha Five's visibility when people do generic searches on Google / Bing etc

                      Regards
                      Richard Rabins
                      Co Chairman
                      Alpha Software

                      Comment


                        #41
                        Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

                        Originally posted by Richard Rabins View Post
                        There has been significant work done in organizing the documentation - we hired an outside documentation specialist.
                        I hope that the v9 & v10 release notes, etc. have been integrated* into the WiKi. That would be a substantial improvement over the aging CHM.

                        *as verses merely listed.
                        Peter
                        AlphaBase Solutions, LLC

                        [email protected]
                        https://www.alphabasesolutions.com


                        Comment


                          #42
                          Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

                          I'm fairly quick to criticise but I think Alpha deserve praise for this as it is a definite step forward. The fact they have recognised that they needed to get a third party organisation in to improve their documentation and set-up the Wiki is great. This can be a difficult step for SME to do because of the costs and the fact it is out of your control.

                          Will it be perfect? No probably not but it is a definite improvement and will allow the Alpha5 community to contribute in a slightly more structured way than the message board.

                          Well done Alpha.

                          Comment


                            #43
                            Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

                            Originally posted by gmeredith17 View Post
                            Will it be perfect? No probably not but it is a definite improvement and will allow the Alpha5 community to contribute in a slightly more structured way than the message board.

                            Well done Alpha.
                            I agree. The value is in the structure and organization. While the forum is good I find it hard to search and the associations are not always useful. The subject lines chosen by the posters is often careless. Wading through pages of irrelevant messages in hopes of finding a gem is hard. I think the Wiki idea is better because the organization of the information can be better structured and controlled.

                            Thank you Alpha for listening.

                            Sean

                            Comment


                              #44
                              Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

                              I couldn't agree more with the wiki idea. The current message board has a wealth of information, but it is fragmented so badly, you have a very difficult time finding what you're looking for. Better structure is definitely needed and the wiki will provide this.

                              The current message board could really do with some sub topics in the various major topic areas. Having one desktop section for a5v9 is symptomatic of just trying to get a message board up without thinking about how it can benefit your users.
                              John J. Fatte', CPA
                              PRO-WARE, LLC
                              Omaha, NE 68137

                              Comment


                                #45
                                Re: Selwyn: Why haven't more IT pro's heard of Alpha?

                                I like the WikiPedia site, but I have trouble copying the code snippets. When I highlight, copy, then paste, the results are always double spaced.

                                I know how to remove the empty lines with the code editor,but wondered if there was a way to copy without getting them.

                                The Wiki is great other than that...

                                Bill Broyles
                                Regards from Washington State,
                                Bill
                                Licensed NERD

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