Neptune reports are an add-on to CampaignManager that allow you to create reports based on Campaign, Media or Channel (RDD).  It's extremely simple to use and setup and replaces the old 'raw xml' reporting that was present up till now.  We'll be posting a download link in the coming days, but here are two screen shots in the mean time!

 

Some development opportunities have arisen at our Sydney offices.  Please check out the two posts below if  you're interested!

Software Development Engineer

Summary

Do you love writing code?  Are you a recent graduate or about to graduate?  Have you found yourself creating applications at home just for the fun of it?  If this sounds like you please read on...

Ryarc build windows based software and associated services that organisations use to manage distributed media displays.   Our software is used by global blue chip organisations to deliver billions of multi-media notices every year.

This is your chance to get your hands dirty in a commercial software system and to work with technologies like DirectX, Remoting, Web Services and build applications that merge the best of what Windows and the web have to offer.

This is a software development role and so requires and interest and competency in the process of software construction, coding and debugging.  Excellent coding skills, knowledge of source control, issue tracking and resolution are of course essential.

This role will suit someone with a genuine passion for creating software.  If you find yourself leaning towards the business side of computing this role probably won’t suit you.  However, this is an ideal position for someone wishing to continue their development as a software engineering professional.

Essential Requirements

·         A passion for quality software development

·         Demonstrated  knowledge of object oriented methodologies

·         Demonstrated knowledge of debugging methodologies

·         Experience with the .NET platform is required

·         Candidates should have a BS in computer science (or equivalent)

·         Must have problem solving ability, be creative and have excellent verbal and written communications skills

·         Must be capable of working self directed

Desirable Requirements

·         Web technologies and be reasonably proficient with HTTP and similar protocols

·         Windows XP Embedded development experience

·         Experience in Networking and TCP/IP

·         Experience in SQL Server and good knowledge of database design

 

Please send a cover letter, academic transcript and brief CV to info * at * ryarc.com and include the word “SDE” in the subject.

Software Design Engineer

 

Summary

Ryarc build windows based software and associated services that organisations use to manage distributed media displays.   Our software is used by Global blue chip organisations to deliver billions of multi-media notices every year.

This is your chance to get your hands dirty in a commercial software system and to work with technologies like DirectX, Remoting, Web Services and build applications that merge the best of what Windows and the web have to offer.

This is a software design role and so requires and interest and competency in design methodologies and experience in designing complex systems.  Excellent coding skills, knowledge of source control, issue tracking and resolution are of course essential.

This is a challenging role that will suit persons wishing to excel and distinguish themselves in the field of software engineering.

Essential Requirements

·         A passion for quality software development

·         In-depth knowledge of object oriented methodologies

·         Proven debugging skills

·         Experience with the .NET platform is required

·         Experience with multithreaded asynchronous development issues

·         Candidates should have a BS in computer science (or equivalent), as well as at least 3 years of experience in developing and shipping software products

·         Prior experience working with distributed systems

·         Must have strong architectural instincts and problem solving ability, be creative and have excellent verbal and written communications skills

·         Must be capable of working self directed - must be able to provide reasonable time estimates for assigned tasks

Desirable Requirements

·         Web technologies and be reasonably proficient with HTTP and similar protocols

·         Windows XP Embedded development experience

·         Experience in Networking and TCP/IP

·         Experience in SQL Server and good knowledge of database design

To register your interest, please email info * at * ryarc.com and include the code SSDE in the subject.

We'll get 1.3 out the door in the next few days.  Here are some of the issues fixed and features added:

	Bugs Fixed
	Creating Campaigns with Extremely long names causes the application to fail
	Entering illegal characters in the proxy field casuses the application to fail
	Project history showing the same times for all actions
	Category name allows empty entries
	Category name allows duplicate entries
	Autofind drop folder when more than one drop folder specified causes CM Service UI to fail
	RDD Config file can overwrite the config files of another project if using the same RDD Name
	BUG: Arithmetic overflow caused by larger numbers in proxy field
	Thumbnail preview in Remote Desktop Mode freezes CM
	Features Added
CM Service Console	Service UI now contains visual indicators as to which edition of a given Campaign each player has
CampaignManager	Improved UI and search for Project History / Audit Trail
CM Player	Allow post back of CM Player logs to independent Web Service
CM Player	Turn on or off the IE Script disabler in CM Player
CampaignManager	Set Default durations for all types of Media
CM Player	New Log Black-out period per day (Stops recording logs for a given period each day)
CampaignManager	Automatic Project Backup
CampaignManager	RDD files now put in their own Project Folder

Version 1.3 will also have French available! German will be available in a few weeks!

 

We're delighted to report that Ryarc and Advantech have joined forces to offer a combined Player+Software offering for Digital Signage.  The Advantech unit is a compact, robust high performance PC unit about the size of a book and will come factory fitted with the CampaignManager software.  Here's the press release: http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/14050/

Advantech will now offer CampaignManager as a part of their expanding Digital Signage offerings.  See the units here.

It's been a while since we blogged, so I want to share some of what's coming down the track in our next release; 3.0.  For a while now, typical DS systems have been either Web applications or GUI applications.  The advantages and disadvantages of both types of applications are well know.  For web, the benefits are the ability to use the system from anywhere with an internet connection.  Whilst this is great, there are some clear downsides to this also.  As David Hill has remarked:

The usability of the applications was often much reduced and common features that the user had grown accustomed to, such as drag-and-drop, undo-redo, context sensitive help, and so on, were no longer available. Furthermore, the responsiveness of the application was diminished, especially for business applications, such as those in customer call centers, which demanded heavy data entry and navigation across multiple screens...

To summarize, whilst web interfaces have many advantages, they also 'suck' in some ways:

• Security and the inability to host the system yourself
• Inability to take advantage of all the power of your desktop PC
  
• Managing complex tasks with a web page, even with advanced browser UI can be a frustrating experience
• Managing large files round-tripping to a remote server can be soul destroyingly frustrating
  
• Being off the air if your ASP's web server is down

On the Application side, there are also some clear disadvantages, namely:

• Requiring a complex install to access your project
• The inability to access your project from anywhere

CampaignManager 2007 (or 3.0; we haven't quite decided) will eliminate these problems associated with a traditional non-web application by using what's called "Smart Client" technology.  This means that whilst you will still have all the power and richness of a windows application you will also be able to access your Digital Signage network from anywhere on any Windows machine!  In addition, the system will allow you to work off line and always be within the rich and powerful windows environment.  We're in the thick of development now but as features come available, I'll blog them here.  This new method of access, which brings the CampaignManager product away from project file based  management to a relational database opens up a huge range of new features which will make this release a real leap in terms of power.  Hence, 1.2 -> 3.0 :)

More to come...

Just a quick update.  In responde to user requests, we've ported the system help into a printable PDF document.  Get it here:

http://www.ryarc.com/download/campaignmanagerhelp.pdf

We have also placed the entire help system online and you can find that here: http://www.ryarc.com/library

We were "back stage" at Tech.Ed yesterday helping install our demo Embedded System at the Exhibition Centre.  Don Kerr (Pictured) is Strategy Manager for Embedded Computing at Microsoft AU and was very nearly as excited (as you can see) as us to see High Definition digital signage running Windows XP embedded.

 

 

And it looks like they got their net connectivity issues sorted because as you can see from the image below, the device we installed there is up and running.  (The device at Tech.Ed is configured to connect to our lab here on the other side of the City.)

 

 

If hits on the website and google referrals are anything to go by, the system is generating some interest.  Which is nice.  More later.  A big thank you to Don and the folks at Microsoft for asking us along :)