Unbelievable!

[djkaraok]

I am impressed with Microstudio 2.303. Even with a couple of items that are being looked into this program should rate as the best cd+g software currently on the market. How can I say this? Well I have Goldenhawk and Paddus as well and have used them both extensively. However, they fail to compare with the ease and reliability of Microstudio.

Since I am a computer tech I often am called upon to evaluate software and fix problems. It has been a long time since I have found a program that I loaded on my system yesterday and began to use the program without having to read any documentation with such success!

I applaud the creators and programmers for a job well done. Are there any issues with version 2.303? Yes there are the MTU staff are being responsible and looking into these right away. Just remember that most software companies release products (they believe are) free of any problems. They only realize problems exist after different hardware and software users find exceptions to the common users usage of the program that there are issues not thought or tested when the product was released. It is impossible to have every systems hardware and software settings to test software products with. This is why they rely on the users to relate different issues they have with their software and hardware configurations.

By the way when Microsoft released Windows 98 there were over 10,000 known errors and problems with the software when they released this product. They were to find later that the number grew to over 20,000 problems!

Enjoy this product and let the staff know of your issues (first post in these Forums under your product's name). They will assist you in trying to correct the problem with your hardware and software configuration.

I am in no way associated with this company nor do I know any of the staff personally so my findings and feelings regarding this software are my own. I expect to read the manual and see what this baby will do!! So hang on for further reports.

Oh yea! If you do not own Keyrite you are missing out on one of the greatest additions to karaoke cd+g software. It is easy to use and it really works!! Thanks for your time.

Jerry Thomas, MCSE, CSC, CRI etc!!
djkaraok@home.com

[admin]

I truly appreciate your expert testimonial. You are so very true about our BELIVING we had fixed all the bugs before shipping.

In fact, we built 19 pre-release versions, and 20 beta testers received 5 of these versions. The other 14 were MTU only "alpha" versions tested in-house.

We have already fixed most of the problems today. A new beta version will go out tomorrow to those who reported problems. That way, they get to see if V2.304 fixes their problem.

Did I say go out tomorrow? As we delved deeper looking for logic and other code errors, we have found a few more problems. Of course, each error that is fixed is another one that clients won't see.

We are still coding V2.304 and making very good progress. We hope to sent this to beta testers either 06/04/01 (Monday) or Tuesday.

Admin edit 06/21/01: Yesterday I released V2.310 with all the bugs reported fixed, and quite a few new features added in while we were waiting for Beta Tester feedback. You can see our version evolution with our beta testers at: http://www.mtu.com/support/microstud...on-details.htm. We even added scrolling back in as some folks considered that a major problem.

[djkaraok]

I am glad that you felt my first appraisal of the software was appropriate. My hope is that if it was not as good you would be as interested in fixing the program. Since I have dealt with you I have never felt a lack of concern regarding your product. Please keep the attitude that the product needs to be the best and easiest on the market and you will continue to impress users. Support Support Support is the key to software that gains the respect of the users and the market share of the product being developed. I answered your email regarding the beta testing. The nice thing about my appraisal of your product is my lack of involvement with your company and the fact that I know no one with your company. Explain the signature and the icons usage please and save me time looking into these features of your web page. Thanks!

Jerry Thomas

[admin]

The signature appears at the bottom of each post. For example, you typed in Jerry Thomas above as your signature. If you entered this in your Profile, it would automatically be added to the bottom each post you make... If you click the Show Signature: check box at the bottom of the text entry box when creating or editing your post.

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As to customer support, for 31 years at MTU and my prior company TUI, we have never charged for support. Most companies do not allow you to talk to a human being without an annual contract or a credit card number. However, when folks call and ask consulting questions about thir computer that is not related to our products at all, it is frustrating. For example, if you bought Microstudio (a $50 product) and call to ask how to make your CD Burner work when you bought it from some other vendor, or calling to get us to teach you how to use Windows or the mouse, is abusing us.

We work very hard to polish the human interface on our products. That is one of the distinguishing features of MTU. We design for the intended user. For example, Goldenhawk has an excellent product. It can duplicate a CDG disc just like Microstudio. However, we don't force you to have to know how many bytes/sector is required for a CDG disc. We bury the technology, and deliver you the function without your even thinking about it. I have been "beating up" my programmers for 31 years to make them do what the client wants, not to code the way that is easiest for them. I pay them for the extra time to polish the code for the user.

I almost did not add the ability to handle Audio CDs because it forced our client to make a decision, creating a Karaoke CDG versus Audio CD. Sounds simple, but a decision must be made, which can confuse some folks. We spend many, many hours coding and tweeking the error messages, instruction messages and text in dialog boxes. If I and our users don't like the way a feature works, I work with Engineering to make trade-offs so it works the "right way".

In Microstudio 2.303, we spent a long time adding in new error checking coding. When even one client reports a problem that indicates a bug or flaw in our code, everyone at MTU is upset about it. If it is bad enough, we start immediately and fix it. Just as you have, many of our clients praise how easy it is to use our products.

Because of the problems reported in Microstuido 2.303, in less than a week we have already written 2.304. I just received the testible version this morning and am preparing it to go out to our beta testers. You can find the changes on our site (page link to be added shortly in this post ).