Steve Workman

As per usual:

USE v3.04
Changed spelling of ‘location’ in add newsletter menu
Fixed RSS validation
Fixed email message output
Fixed ability to submit an email twice by accident
Fixed a CSS bug causing 404 errors
Fixed div bugs when access to a page was denied
Added ability to send email to all members
Fixed yellow/red cards not displaying in readreports

Yeah, I know what I said in the last post. I was incredibly annoyed when I had pushed 3.03 out the door only to run into another salvo of bugs. 3.04 has been much more of an incremental update than the last one so half the fixes have been out in the wide world all week.
I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten a final feature list for v3.1, but that’s been put on the back-burner for a bit until I get all my changes to uni-sport.org done (i.e. the demo sites are still on v3.02 and contain real data). I have also started exploratory coding on USE v4. The first task of which is to reproduce v3 exactly. After that… who knows what I’ll dream up, maybe even some satisfactory way to do sessions without copying phpBB exactly, a better way for people to configure RSS better, maybe even give people different templates and the ability to change their layout based upon a basic uni colour scheme. Maybe the site will even be secure! Pipe dreams my friends, pipe dreams, lol.

Other than that, things are goin alright. 5 paying clients are currently on my books and the White Rose Enterprise Agency wants to give me up to £500 to spend on stuff for the business. So, that’s an external HDD for secure code storage between computers; a CVS for dreamweaver; overheads for the year covered; professionally made business cards and logo; exams in dreamweaver and photoshop so i can get certified; and even coffee if i’m with a client. The perks of the job ya see.

Steve
Currently Listening To: Ryan Adams
Currently Watching: The start of all the tv shows i missed last year (and futurama)
Currently Eating: Ibuprofen and tomatoes (apparently I have a kidney infection)
Currently Reading: Background material….. how dull
Unnecessary hours of Genesys lecutures: all of them, all 12 hours *grrr*

First things first…
USE v3.03

Fixed:
Minor security bug when uploading errors
Minor fix in view mini-profile
Finally fixed hidden email addresses
Default avatar now correct type
Maintenance mode page now uses the site’s clubname
Account Activation fixed
Comment in showpicture is now back in the centre
Commitactivation email link fixed
Registration layout and error message

Added:
New Default avatar
Match Reports now link to player’s profiles
Deny button in account activation
Admin-only opt-out of FH to user profile
Ability to change a player’s nickname
Alternate profile picture upload
Admin Activate account without email confirmation
Add user for Admins

Now, that’s a serious amount of bugfixes, seriously, there are loads in there. It’s mostly come from the fact that since I am now a business (Steel Software UK now has a bank account!) and have 4 clients under my belt with loads more interested I’m now finding the little things, the things which just make life easier for everyone. Things like forcing account activation, changing usernames if you misspell, just more things that before I’d go in to the database for can now be done through the UI.
This is probably going to be the last bugfix release before 3.1 which won’t contain a whole lot more considering admin add user was scheduled for then.

So, the business:
http://mensrugby.shef.uni-sport.org or www.menofsheffield.com My first clients. It’s been a good experience, steep learning curve really. The annoying thing was that most of the bugs were caused by me working at 2am with v3.01 code. Very silly things that were fixed in SUHC3, but not in USE-Full. So, I’ve gotta try to get some sort of CVS working in dreamweaver. It’s quite hard actually, considering my desktop pc here doesn’t like doing FTP with the current router (the mac is fine tho, both on wireless, one next to the other, very odd) so I can’t use the demo sites to host the version control. So, a CVS will get me started. I’m noting everything I do down, it’s just taking the time to make sure all sites are at the same level.

Tomorrow, meeting with Squash, meeting with Rowing the next day (http://rowing.shef.uni-sport.org) then versioning, as long as I don’t get any more clients yet. Also, now things are pulling together and I actually have some sites, therefore, the whole shef.uni-sport.org web page needs some sprucing up, probably with a choice selection of news tidbits from the network sites and the uni logo somewhere.
I’ve also got a lovely fashion design student (friend of a friend) who has said she’ll do a logo for Steel Software (that site needs re-doing).

Anyway, its well past my bedtime
Steve

Currently Listening To: The Dears - Gang of Losers
Currently Watching: Futurama
Currently Eating: Cheese on toast with Henderson’s Relish - best hangover cure ever, FACT!
Currently Reading: Photoshop CS Classroom in a Book
Company Profits To Date: £35

USE v3.02:
Fixed edit squad error
Fixed minor error in randomprofile selector
Fixed picture association for matches and events in edit picture displayed incorrectly
Fixed picture association for matches not including matches for archived squads
Changed CSS so that siteinfo displays more clearly
Add who in picture to showpicture

There’s still a very random bug with the adverts on some computers using IE6. If you can’t see the ads, clear your cache. If that doesn’t work, use a proper browser (Opera/Firefox)
I’m moving the demo system to demo.uni-sport.org and making all 4 modules available to play with. I’ve gotten an email from an interested party for the USE-Lite system so pricing for everything will be confirmed later in the week. I was recently reminded that phpBB forums are under the GNU license so I can’t actually sell it as part of my packages. I can give it away with the packages, but not sell it so things are gonna change slightly there.

Shef Uni Rowing Club’s website should be done by next week, and it’ll start testing on shef.uni-sport.org/rowing soon.

Steve
Currently Listening To: Captain - This is Hazelville
Currently Watching: Brazil v Argentina
Currently Eating: Weetos, strangley they’re healthier for you can cornflakes!
Currently Reading: Any information I can get on setting up a business

I’ve a feeling that I really should update this more often. Ah well, here goes:

USE (University Sports Engine) v3.01
Fixed:
Lop-sided forums
Standardised folder names
Email addresses always being hidden

Added:
Icons for MSN/AOL/Register etc

Known bugs:
Picture association with even/match incorrect
Profile picture upload not being available to everyone

Scheduled additions in v3.02
Tutorials
“Who is in picture” to be displayed with each picture
Rotate pictures in the edit picture menu
Alternate profile picture upload

The reason for all these new icons is that in the v3.1 update the website will be completely modular, split into Basic, Standard, Full and an additional module known as Fantasy Hockey, available for Standard and Full packages. The website has been renamed ‘USE’ for University Sports Engine. Therefore, the packages are named: USE-less (basic), USE (standard), USE-Full (Full) with Fantasy appended onto either of the latter two.

Next week I shall be registering www.uni-sport.org and www.steel-software.com and moving hosts to Dreamhost which gives me a bucketload more space and bandwidth. From then, any uni who wants a sports website, just has to ask! They’ll be limited with the choice of template at first, but that’s a story for another day.

v3.02 is scheduled for late next week. However, some of the changelist may be subject to change.

Steve

Currently Listening To: Belle & Sebastian
Currenlty Eating: Very little, on a diet
Currently Watching: Grey’s Anatomy
Currenty Reading: The Times (sudoku)
Minutes Left at current job: 68

Well, I’ve been hard at for for 2 weeks now and I’ve kinda ignored this blog, so, I thought I’d do a bit of an update. I’m not going to dump the changelog on here cos it’s a few miles long, this “update” has become much more of a major change than I thought.

Last year, there were no real functions for looking through previous years’ data, or even separating it from the current year. Therefore, on this new version, users, matches, events and pictures now have an ‘archived’ field. There are now search facilities all over the site, all of which work on AJAX technology which makes things all nice and pretty. Therefore, the major changes are:
Integrated PhpBB2 (single login, single database)
Archive Support
Added user details
AJAX search across the site
Fantasy Hockey online (currently not implemented)
Added admin features including full user control, security log and information pages and adverts in the db
Picture enhancements including better gallery, re-arranged directory structure and a “who is in this picture” aka ‘facebook’ functions.
Additional squad filters by users’ preferred playing position
More user preferences and attributes.
More match statistics including cards and a friendly option.
and so on….

Most of this is now done and can be seen at www.sheffieldhockey.com/beta

It’s fucking hard work. It’ll all be done soon though, nearly there

Steve

Currently Watching: Green Wing
Currently Eating: very little, damn bank manager
Currently Listening To: Pink Floyd
Currently Reading: A Scanner Darkly