Welcome to the quarterly Smart-Thinker DotNetNuke Newsletter.

Module Updates
Smart-Thinker UserProfiles 4.3.1  (Trial version now available for download)
View other user profiles and see upcoming birthdays. User Directory, Photo uploading and Image in Directory Search. Danish language pack available.

Smart-Thinker HomePage 4.3.1 (Trial version now available for download)
Users create their own page and can add/edit their own modules - think "MyYahoo". Your users can now have their own gallery, blog and favourite links for example. This version only creates ONE role in total. Danish language pack available.

Smart-Thinker Events 1.0.5  (Now Certified by DotNetNuke Review Program)
Bookable events with email notifications and RSVP management.
Development 80% complete on new 4.3.1 version with Trial
French language pack available.

Upcoming Developments
The top priority is bringing all modules up to the 4.3.1 version (for DotNetNuke 4.3.x) with a Trial and in VS 2005 WAP format. The next module due it the Events module with a LOT of new functionality (RSS Feeds, Export to Outlook, Better filtering, Attachments, Limited Places and a lot more). After this, the UserProfile module is due to be redesigned to take advantage of the extensible core, as well as UI templating in all modules like the DNN core FAQ module.

We also have 2 new modules planned in the next 2-4 months: the Smart-Thinker Scheduler and the Smart-Thinker Wizard. As per our blog a lot more time will be spent on DNN Development in the upcoming months.

DotNetNuke 4.x
As you may have read in our DotNetNuke Development Blog, we are not releasing any new modules or updates in DotNetNuke 3.x. As a small company, we simply cannot afford to develop, test, support and maintain two distinct lines of code. According to the recent survey on Smart-Thinker, only 1/3 of the you are still using DNN 3.x, and any code we write in ASP.NET is literally “throw away” code. Sincere apologies to those who are unable to upgrade – this was not an easy decision to make, but a necessary one.

Note that all current modules will continue to function as normal, and we will release 3.x patches of any show-stopping bugs (but they won’t have any new functionality). We are aware that there is a problem on the DNN 3.3.3+ version of the HomePage module, and this is on "To Fix" list - we are trying to find time to schedule it in.

Advertising
We've recently invested a lot of money into our own advertising and Search Engine Optimization, resulting in a Google Page Rank of 4 on Smart-Thinker, and 5 on the DotNetNuke Directory. This has also resulted in between 5-15 new users signing up a day (on target to hit the 5000 user mark around November).

We get over 2500 Page Views a day (around 250 unique visitors a day according to Google Analytics) – which means our 10 or so Banner Adverts get a LOT of exposure and traffic.

We are currently trialing text links on the Smart-Thinker Home Page (in prime view on the left - seen by 250 users each day) – it’s currently $5 a week. This link WILL send a lot of potential customers to your site. We stopped using Google Ads a few months ago as they clutter up the site and we want to have pure, useful DotNetNuke Ads on our site only.

Contact us if you would like to channel some of this DotNetNuke business to your site with a Banner Ad, or purchase a home page text link here (due to the introductory price these will be taken quickly).

Seen in Action
Do you use our modules on a public site? Get some free advertising and submit it to the “Seen in Action” section. Likewise, we’d appreciate any testimonials you have regarding our products, website or support.

Pricing and Subscriptions
You spoke, we listened: from now on we are not using automatic recurring subscriptions. We’ve had to be more realistic about our prices and we’ve had to incorporate Portal Usage into our pricing to make it fairer and sustainable. This means that if you use a module on more than 5-10 portals you will need to purchase an Enterprise License. The modules now check the number of Portals they are used on and will display a message if you exceed your licensed limit.

We also decided not to charge for version upgrades – instead the different product suites come with a period of time which you can receive patches and updates for. For example, if you purchase the Enterprise Product Suite you get ALL modules and ALL upgrades free for the next year. An added bonus is that when we release a new module you get this free as well. Once this period has expired your modules will continue to work as normal. If you renew your plan before it has expired than you receive 30% the price for the following year. Alternatively you can re-purchase a plan when it suits you.

All current, active recurring subscriptions are still valid and will be left on the old prices (at time of purchase). Consider this a thank-you for your support – you can leave it as long as you like and you are immune to our price rises.

New Licensing
Please be aware of our new License Agreement - Note that this will only apply to new product purchases and not existing, recurring subscriptions. The new licensing is based on usage and each module is licensed to be used on a maximum a number of portals.

PokerDIY – Free tools and leagues for home poker players
If you know anyone who enjoys playing poker with their friends at home or run a league then please introduce them to PokerDIY. We use all our Smart-Thinker modules to power this site and it has been well received so far. Our aim is to make it the Number 1 Home Poker League website in the next year. Now that’s DogFooding!

DotNetNuke Directory
If you have not yet seen this then you should consider submitting your site for free advertising and traffic. Our “Top Hits” website has received over 800 hits in a few months – that’s some serious revenue you could be missing out on. Get your site listed for free now. If you don’t have a website, then you can still use the Module Search or DNN FAQ to find what you are looking for.
 
For all queries, please use the appropriate Forum and we’ll get back to you shortly!

Thanks for your support!
Rodney Joyce   (see my DNN Community Profile)

Sponsors

Welcome to the quarterly Smart-Thinker DotNetNuke Newsletter.

A big thanks to all new subscribers! We want you to interactively drive the direction of our products to suit your requirements. Subscribers have full access to ALL modules and resources on Smart-Thinker.

 If you are not yet a subscriber, did you know that you can qualify for a free Silver Subscription and download all of our modules for free? Have a look at the new AdSub Package if you are interested.

 We have also launched a new imitative called the DotNetNuke Directory. The DNN Directory is a human-edited, high quality index of DNN links for modules, skins, tutorials, jobs, events and loads more. Every single submission is screened, checked for accuracy and then tagged accordingly (e.g. Forums/Multilingual/Live Support etc) to ensure that users can find the information they want efficiently. We encourage you to submit your listing for review. A successful listing means increased exposure for your DotNetNuke products and better Page Rankings for Search Engine Optimization. We aim to establish this as the first place to look when searching for DNN information. Any DotNetNuke-related site can be submitted, so why don’t you submit yours now.

Updates and Latest Module Versions: (All modules work on DNN 3.x and 4.x/Medium Trust)

Free Stuff: Added a custom core Repository module template for videos and Referrals French language pack.

Smart-Thinker Events 1.0.5
Bookable events with email notifications and RSVP management
Main new features: Anonymous Public Event viewing, Admin role can admin events and not just Host, Calendar View now scrolls properly, Localized Module Actions, Various minor bug-fixes

French language pack available

Smart-Thinker Quotes 1.0.1

Users can add, edit and maintain their own content (quotes/verses/jokes/testimonials etc.) with an approval process.

Main new features: Item Category - not just for quotes - Jokes/Testimonials/Verses etc. Use of FTB for editing - allows insertion of HTML and images. In addition to Random and Least Asked, you can now specify specific items (eg. for a Testimonial). Fully commented source. Integrates with Smart-Thinker UserProfiles.

Smart-Thinker UserProfiles 1.0.4
Extend user information, view other user profiles and see upcoming birthdays. Fully commented source.

User Directory with simple and advanced search on all user profile fields. Photo uploading, all grids now use the Smart-Thinker Datagrid for easy sorting and paging. Fixed Redirection bug in Child Portals, FTB Editor, Users Online Modification to link to UserProfile.

Smart-Thinker HomePage 1.0.1 (4.0.1 for DNN 4.x)

Users create their own page and can add/edit their own modules - think "MyYahoo". Your users can now have their own gallery, blog and favourite links for example. This version only creates ONE role in total. Full commented source is available, as well as public pages - everyone can see your HomePage, so you can give out the URL. Better page naming and various bug fixes.

Smart-Thinker Referrals 1.0.0
Send a referral to anyone via an internet email address with fully customizable templates.

French language pack available

Smart-Thinker Webcam 1.0.0
Seamlessly refreshes information in an iframe without a server roundtrip

Smart-Thinker Utilities 1.0.0

Yahoo IM Online indicator, Skype button, Page Refreshing, No Right click, Cursor clocks and custom script attachments

DNN Controls

Smart-Thinker DataGrid - Custom sorting and paging datagrid - can be used in module grids to  allow sorting and paging

using the database and Code Smith generated stored procedures. See the Quotes module for an example.
Mandatory Textbox - All Smart-Thinker modules use this control - it has a lot of inbuilt validation to make the UI design a lot easier.
UserLink - This works great with the UserProfile module - wherever you display a list of users you can link to the UserProfile module with this control

SimpleSQL:

We've added various SQL statements to perform certain tasks - let us know if you have a query or report and we'll help you with the SQL!

If you have any questions, suggestions or problems then please post them on our Forums.

Coming soon:

Smart-Thinker Scheduler – Set reminders for important dates and get notified before an event is about to begin or it’s someone’s birthday. Event hosts can use it to set reminders to send to certain RSVP types for an event.

Event module update – RSS Feeds, Closed Status and loads more in the next 6-8 weeks. This will be a huge update and provide a lot of new functionality.

Looking Ahead

Like everyone we are bursting with anticipation of the new DNN 4.1 version. Judging by the time in development and Shaun’s blog, this version is going to be beautiful. A lot will come into perspective once we have seen this release – for example the direction of the UserProfile module. We would like to harness some of the new features.

At the time of writing, almost 3 times as many users how responded to our DNN 4.x vs 3.x Poll indicated that they would be using 4.x only in the next couple of months. As any developer will tell you; maintaining multiple codelines is a major drain on time and resources, so we are looking at a very aggressive upgrade strategy. More news to follow after the core release, but there is a good chance we will concentrate on 4.x only for future modules and updates. This will allow us to be more productive and tighten our release cycles instead of maintaining two sets of everything.

Did you know: You can integrate our User Profile module with the core UsersOnline module, Scott Mcculloch's Private Messages AND the core Forum and ActiveForums module!

References Wanted!
We would like to put some words up from users about their experience and opinion of the Smart-Thinker website, and our service to the DotNetNuke community. If we can use your testimonial please let us know. You will get some traffic to your site in return.

Thanks for your support
Rodney Joyce     (see my DNN Community Profile)

http://www.smart-thinker.com

* We know some people don't like reading large amounts of text, so you can unsubscribe by updating your account on Smart-Thinker.com.

A big thanks to all new subscribers! We want you to interactively drive the direction of our products to suit your requirements. If you are not yet a subscriber, bear in mind that subscribers have full access to ALL modules and resources on Smart-Thinker. You can subscribe for as little as $30 - please see our Subscription plans for more information.

There is now a new section called Free Stuff where we have put some modules for download - help yourself!

Did you know: You can integrate our User Profile module with the core UsersOnline module, Scott Mcculloch's Private Messages AND the core Forum and ActiveForums module!

Keep an eye out for the upcoming UserGroup module to integrate with the next version of the Events module. The next version is going to be a big release with a LOT of new features - thank you for your patience. We are also expecting a French language string pack in the next release (if anyone has any other translated versions, please let me know if I can put them up for download).