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Short Line Data Systems ROCS Update – February 2007 Website: www.sdsrocs.com Greetings- Winter has finally arrived here in New Jersey, with temperatures finally staying below the freezing mark for over a week now. While this does not compare with the frigid cold in the mid west, and the lake effect snows, it is a big change from the 65 degree temperatures that we had around Christmas. The quiet portion of the year is over, and we are quite busy with a bunch of projects. In this update we will bring you up to speed on all of our goings on, including the ROCS V10 update, PET ROCS Version 2, the new versions of Windows and Office, and a new product that we have in development. We will also give you a calendar update to keep you posted on our travels. ROCS Version 10 Upgrades We have been working through the upgrade process for our ROCS customers to bring everyone up to Version 10. All users with the exception of the SRNJ and the EEC have been upgraded, and those two will be completed in March. In addition to the upgrades at the current customers, we have completed installation of ROCS at the Port of San Antonio, and we welcome to the SDS family. PET ROCS Version 2 As many of you are aware, the conception and implementation of PET ROCS at the Maine Eastern was a rushed affair, and the development of the package continued under fire during the passenger season in Maine. When a new feature was needed, it was built and the button was thrown on the screen where ever it would fit. By the end of the season we had a good package, but the controls had no flow on the main screen, and some of the procedures were a bit cumbersome. With the passenger season ending following the Christmas trains, we now had the opportunity to make the needed revisions to the system. The main screen has been completely redesigned with a new layout that groups features in logical groups, and we have added a new TrainView section, which allows the user to see the trains and seats sold and available for a selected date. A graphical view of the seats sold on a train is also available on the TrainView. We have also added a new customer receipt and streamlined the seat sales process. The revision should be complete this week, and we’ll have some new screen shots up on the website soon.
Windows Vista and Office 2007 As many of you know, a new version of Windows, called Vista, and a new version of Office (2007) is available. We already have Office 2007 on a Windows XP machine (in fact I am typing this update using Word 2007) , and will be upgrading a computer to Vista and Office 2007 this week. The new version of Access has the most changes to Access that we’ve seen since the 2002 version, and we will be evaluating all of our products with the new versions to make sure that everything continues to work the way it is supposed to. We don’t anticipate any major problems, but we will probably have to make a couple of small adjustments along the way. New Product As I mentioned in last month’s update, we are proud to announce a new product offering this month. When SDS was formed almost eight years ago, our primary purpose was to create products that made running a short line easier, and to this day they have all been software packages that have covered operating issues. No one ever thought back in 1999 how important event reporting was to become, and event reporting windows of four or six hours would have been laughed at. That being said, our latest offering will be one that will help you improve seeing what is on your railroad. We’re calling the new product Traccurate™, and it is a system combining the new SLT-100 wayside AEI scanner from Short Line Technologies, LLC. and a new software package from us, called ROCSScan. Our goals with this new system are to create an AEI system that will be reasonably affordable to a short line, and create a system that will be flexible enough to meet a wide variety of requirements. We have succeeded in both areas. A basic reader system will cost about half of what current offerings do, and we can tailor the system to meet most needs with one simple box. We are going to have a demonstration unit on display at the CSXT Short Line conference trade show on Feb 23, and we will have the full system on display at the ASLRRA annual meeting in Baltimore April 22-24. Brochures will be available on our website soon, and we are happy to arrange a demonstration of the system at your convenience. Travel Schedule and Vacation We will be at the CSX Short Line Conference February 21-23, and will have a booth at the Trade Show on Friday the 23rd. We will have all products available for demonstration, and a full selection of literature on all of our products will be available. Following the CSX meeting, I will be on vacation February 24-March 3. I am going to be in Cozumel, Mexico spending as much time as possible under the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, so the usual instant contact will not be available. I will be checking email and voice mail on a regular basis, and if there is a dire situation I should be able to assist all users.
Well, that is all for now. We are looking forward to seeing everyone in Florida in ten days or so, and we’ll be back next month with updates on what’s new at SDS. Stay safe, Steven Friedland President
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