So what does all that have to do with the original statement that you developers should be locked in a room and fed through a slot. :)

Really I just upgraded to Windows 7 64 bit on my desktop and now have 6 gig of memory. I only got 2 cores though. But it was pretty neat to watch CCDStack load in over 40 8M byte images and not choke like it used to when in the 32 bit world. I don't know if I'll cahnge my observatory or laptop over just yet. 32 bit with 4 gig seems to be enough for now.

Hey Bisque Bros, I would rather wait patiently for a bug-free Pro version than to have you guys rush out an unfinished product...just make sure it runs on WIndows XP...please.

The Sky 6 Pro & Orchestrate work just fine on my upgraded Win7 laptop (Celeron1.86, 2 gig ram and a measly 80 gig HDD).

Sky6 Pro starts faster and delivers stored images quicker than when I downgraded from XP to Vista. So I can wait for SkyX Pro as the Sky6 Pro does everything I need at present.  I now have 3 Supernova discoveries  2008fa, 2009J(independant discovery) & 2009gd and I would like to acknowldege the terrific assistance and patience that Daniel B gave me in writing out a script that allowed me to place my reference images directly into the Sky6 Pro. This was so very valuable with my ability to quickly check galaxies in real time. These guys know what they are doing, put your faith in them - they do it well and they support it like no other.

Happy to wait for the best of the rest..

Peter Marples

I am sure that the wait will be well worth it.  But, PLEASE, make sure it runs effectively on Windows Vista as I don' plan to upgrade to Windows 7 anytime soon.

Clear skies,

Kevin

It is now February 2010 and no update to the release date....

Please keep us betterinformed.

Old jokes:

1) In the life of every project there comes a day when it's necessary to shoot the engineers and start shipping.

2) The first 90% of any software project requires 90% of the time scheduled, finishing the last details requires the other 90%.

My days of program management are (thankfully) a fading memory, but I understand the challenges with anything as complex as this rewrite -- keep plugging, quality is more important than schedule.

A larger issue for me concerns the proliferation of task-specific software for astro imaging. Mounts, cameras, focusers, guiders, domes, weather stations, roof/dome controls -- this scene is becoming the software equivalent of a rat's nest! Under Sky6 and WinXP, my experience is not positive when more than three devices are involved in the lash-up. Is there a goal that SkyX will eventually integrate and improve the reliability of this tangle?

@trimil:  My take on the software tangle is rather different.  I think the approach of one single huge all-singing all-dancing application to do everything is the wrong way to go about things.  I'm an *advocate* of the proliferation of task-specific software.  I'd like an application that controls my CCD camera -- but that's *all* I want it to do (because it's a big-enough job as it is).  I don't need it to also be an image aligner, RGB stacker, image processor, plate solver, etc.  Put all of that stuff in *separate* applications; interconnect them if you'd like.  The same sort of thing is true of the program that runs my mount.

Huge monolithic programs that take years to upgrade or port, and are so hugely complex that all of the bugs are *never* gone, are just not the way to go.  Development cycles measured in geological ages make people yearn for alternatives, and as a vendor, that's NOT what you want them thinking!

Additionally, interconnecting these programs should not rely on large, complex, ultra-magical glue software, no matter how sexy it looks.  The way to make interconnects simple and reliable is to use simple, reliable methods.  Open a TCP port; accept connections that provide human-readable ASCII commands; crack them and do what they say.  This is easy to write, easy to troubleshoot, and easy to debug.

There; now I've revealed essentially all of my secrets to writing ultra-reliable network-interconnected medical software.

Oh, and BTW, put *timestamps* on protocol log files -- with hundredth-of-a-second accuracy (or better, if the system clock allows).

Any further updates on when the release date is likely to be ?

Linas Petras

Today is April 17. Is the Sky X Professional being released?

Mike

When will TheSkyX Professional be avaiable at the on-line store for purchase and download?

Arnie

Excellent!!! I have funds in-hand, ready to buy!  ;o)

It worked -- locking up the developers, I mean. I bought TheSkyX Professional Edition upgrade (for Mac) this morning. It is, as expected, smooth, very responsive, and it has an attractive interface. I have used it on my MacBook Pro this afternoon and also on a friend's Windows laptop this evening. The Windows laptop, by the way, is an older one, not so speedy, but you wouldn't know that from running TheSkyX. Congratulations to all on the excellent work!

And, of course, it's always great to see Tom and Steven and Richard Wright. For those who haven't gotten the word, Richard is working on a couple of things for the iPad. I'm sure we will learn more in due course.

David, reporting from NEAF

Oh, goody!  I got my 64GB iPad a week and a half ago and look forward to the iPad version release!  After seeing the Starwalk app for iPad, I expect to have my mind blown by the upcoming TheSkyX for iPad...

@wirelessdude

SkyX might be a stretch on the iPad as there are no ports and the CPU is a bit underpowered. Using the iPad as a remote, wireless client makes more sense. A VPN program (there are several in the app store) lets you see and control anything shown on the display of the main PC that is running SkyX (Win or Mac). You could do this with the iPod Touch or iPhone two years ago, but the larger display of the iPad is much easier to navigate.

Yep...  I use Desktop Connect for my RDP and VNC remote PC needs.  My plan was to do my telescope remote connectivity in this fashion.  However, there is a way to allow TheSkyX for iPad to remote-control telescopes via the Equinox 6 software that acts as a server for the iPad app to utilize.  The protocols used is standard from what I believe.  Starwalk already uses this architechture to allow its iPad app to control telescopes...

@wirelessdude

That would work if all you need to "control" is the telescope mount. But once you start adding other third-party devices like focusers, cameras, filter wheels, dome controls, etc., non-Windows operating systems run in to the age-old bugaboos of hardware drivers that were written for a bygone era. ASCOM stuff is never going to find a happy home on the iPad because it depends on ActiveX and other Microsoft APIs. The sad thing about ASCOM is that it kinda-sorta works, for a little while, and it gives us end users false hope that one day all our gadgets will live up the promises in the marketing hype. ;)

Maybe SB should just include  one of those mini-box PCs running stripped-down XP  with every copy of SkyX they sell -- problem solved? -- LOL.

The NEAF video is interesting. Now when CCDSoft pops up an error message and tells me my ASCOM-enabled focuser doesn't work, I'll be able to see it on a portable device!

Sorry to be sarcastic, but isn't the real issue interoperability? We invest a lot of time and money in equipment that, from my experience, doesn't work very well as a system. Yes, the individual pieces are all fine and dandy -- getting them to play together as a reliable system is another story.

As a software developer, I feel the urge to chime in here.  Bill Gates and that dude over at Apple could make all of our problems like this go away in a few months, if they wanted to.  Unfortunately, developers pay the sin offering for the bickering of these immensely egotistical people who are intent on destroying each other.   Personally, I applaud SB and Stark Labs for even bothering with the MAC, Linux, and even handhelds.   Yeah... impressive technology.  But it's like the VHS - Beta wars:  just because one is better doesn't mean everybody is going to adopt it.  Criminy, there's an LX-200 protocol, ASCOM, and TheSky just in this little corner!  Development is expensive, and you have to go for the lion's share of the platforms.  The desires of the masses are great; development resources are scarce and precious.

My hope is that they get out a great, PC based product, work out any little kinks, and then move on to other platforms and minutia.

"Software is never finished... only published"

Just my fiddycents...

DD

@destrehandave

The Gates/Jobs rivalry ended ten years ago, and Jobs said as much when he returned to Apple. We now have these incredibly powerful operating systems, but they are not well suited for controlling dumb hardware devices like the ones used in this hobby. Good old DOS will run rings around W7, OS X, or Linux in terms of latency and handling interrupts, and almost anybody can use a simple Basic or C program in DOS to twiddle bits and make the lights blink. The problem is we have peripherals with interfaces from the 1980s attached to computers running modern operating systems and imaging software.

ASCOM is an attempt to bridge this gap between the high-level OS and the bits that need toggling to run a focuser motor back and forth. But ASCOM is wedded to Windows APIs, most of the market for sure, but the downside is a perpetuation of the idea that it's OK to make and sell dumb peripherals. Sometimes ASCOM devices work just fine, and other times they make me want to throw the whole ball of stuff in a trash can and buy a Dob. I've literally come to dread software updates because afterward it's likely that some device in my imaging system won't work anymore. It shouldn't be this way. Why can't a $4K CCD camera display it's set-up menu as a web page in a browser? My "digital" focuser has an RJ-45 jack on it to receive RS-232 serial commands -- how dumb is that? Why can't I send it a message to move to a new position using email protocols over an e-net connection?

Like SkyX, anything that gets us away from a Windows-centric programming model is in my mind a positive move. A platform-agnostic replacement for ASCOM is needed as well, even if that means we must pay higher prices for smarter devices (for the extra hardware and embedded software). I joked above about including a mini-PC with each copy of SkyX, but in reality similar capabilities can be embedded in cameras, focusers, guiders, etc., using technology available today.

Is that the "Final Jeopardy" theme I'm hearing in the background?  ;o)

Is there an estimated date when Sky X Professional will be available for sale on the website? I know that it was released at NEAF - but for those of us who weren't able to attend, what is the expected timing for us to be able to purchase the product?

Mike

Yes, thanks, I see it today. This leads to a different question - the website says that I can install it on one operating system. I have an XP laptop that I plan on upgrading later this year to Windows 7. Is there a mechanism to transfer the license from the XP machine to the Win 7 machine?