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)

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