What exactly have Air Nav done, post ST launch, to fix known bugs?

[viking9]

V4.04. Is that the mlat version? 

[Roadrunner]

My Radarbox also gathers dust and has not been switched on this year. I need to check it again soon to make sure I can still get 3D and my email address and details havent been expunged from their records as not being in use. Must add though that my Aurora SSRx has also not been used since I got the SBS3, although when my last daughter to leave home does so and I will have a bigger room as a hobby room, I am intending to start using one of them again. Odds at moment are that the SSRx will be the one used.........

[Sun Worshipper]

Even Tarbat's patience is wearing thin

Not something I thought I'd ever read.

Welcome to the club Tarby!

[Anmer]

Don't hold your breath, but here's an AirNav update.

Having read it a number of times, the net result is - Zilch.  Pure waffle and same old, same old.  Always something "not in our control" and "ShipTrax" as excuses.

Bottom line it's now 31 months since the last software release which has many unresolved bugs which could and should have been fixed years ago.

But I do agree about one claim - AirNav's reputation is "unmatched".

"We have been reading each post and while our hands are tied regarding announcing timelines we do apologise to those customers who have been disappointed with our efforts.

We have had a master plan which has been affected by various items over the last few years such as ShipTrax delays and others which have caused this situation and we can only profusely apologise.

While its easy to be an armchair businessman the reality is sometimes decisions which are made don't always work out correctly and delays occur. We had planned to have a new major version of RadarBox released earlier this year however due to delays which are not in our control this hasn't been possible. In fact the update given to the Singapore customer contained much of the updated code which rectified majority of issues on the bug pages.

We will be looking at whether an updated version can be released soon as beta or whether it will be worth making sure all the issues noted have been rectified before releasing a major version update.

We are however 100% involved in providing a product which is unmatched in terms of features and reputation. Lets however put a few items into perspective, RadarBox is still unrivalled in many features which work straight out the box. We do still have thousands of customers who are very happy with there RadarBoxes across the world and we do have many special features and projects upcoming.

While the market has changed in the last few years we are still fully behind supporting RadarBox and its customers and of course developing it further. We do value your feedback and comments and we hope you continue to be stay with us and be pleasantly surprised without new projects and updates. "

But maybe the answer to the subsequent question provides an insight to the "challenge" of fixing the "equatorial black hole"?  Woe betide an attempt at Mlat!

"I just want to know why this version isn't in testing and due to be released ASAP if it has cured most of the bugs?"

"The code bases are different, without going into techincals the version which we wanted to release earlier this year was built from the ground up however this is not fully ready yet. There are various reasons to why this version is not ready which we will not go into yet.

Some of the updated code was then ported back to Version 4. At present we will need to decide whether we press ahead with the new version which is built in a different way and release when its ready. Or we stop that development and port back code to the older version to remove any bugs.

Of course we anticapted that the new major version release would have been released by now hence not needing to work the Version 4 code. Hope that explains things a bit better. "

http://www.airnavsystems.com/forum/index.php?topic=7103.msg82272#msg82272

[Anmer]

Looks like I'm not alone in assessing the latest AirNav announcement:

"Is anybody any the wiser following Airnav's reply? If so please tell me whether and when we will be getting any software updates and whether and when a new box will appear and what it will contain. Sounds like more smoke and mirrors to me.

Phrases like "our hands are tied regarding announcing timelines" and "delays which are not in our control" cut no ice with this "armchair businessman". My business problems were mine to deal with and were never offered as excuses to my customers for non-delivery - not that they would have been accepted!

Like so many others, I have enjoyed my Box over the years and still use it but I'll need an awful a lot of persuasion to buy another - if indeed there ever is another. "

I worked "in IT" for 40 years, right across the spectrum including board level accountability for product specification, development, testing, launch and customer support.  AirNav's excuses are, to coin a phrase, totally inexcusable.

AirNav wasted three years developing ShipTrax which is, not unexpectedly, a total failure.   Not because the hardware or software doesn't work but because AirNav didn't do any market research.  Why buy ShipTrax when you can get the data for free?  The desperation of the 50 Free RadarBoxes reflects this only too well.

With ShipTrax failing to recover its development cost and, if rumour is to be believed, RadarBox sales drying up following the launch of the SBS-3, AirNav just can't afford any new development.  And don't forget, the company is run by an airline pilot in his spare time!

If Brandao really cared about his existing customers, he would have fixed the RadarBox bugs years ago.  Instead he wasted time and money on ShipTrax and neglected his aviation customers.  Now, desperate to generate income, he's embarked on RadarBox24.com, trying to compete with the likes of FlightRadar24.com and Planefinder.net.  But it's too late; these and others already dominate the aircraft tracking market and with AirNav's reputation in tatters, what chance has he got of making this new venture a success?

More importantly, what chance of him fixing the outstanding RadarBox bugs and delivering on past promises, including Mlat?

The answer, from yet another "armchair businessman" is "Not a lot".

http://www.airnavsystems.com/forum/index.php?topic=7103.msg82284#msg82284

[Sun Worshipper]

We have had a master plan

Yep, to fleece customers

We are however 100% involved in providing a product which is unmatched in terms of features and reputation

Another lie.  How can this statement be true, no real development for over 3 years.

we are still fully behind supporting RadarBox and its customers and of course developing it further. We do value your feedback and comments and we hope you continue to be stay with us and be pleasantly surprised without new projects and updates.

Yet another lie.  No development is not a sign of supporting a product and woe betide if you post any negative "feedback or comments" on their website as you'll find yourself banned.

The sad thing is that I actually believe Brandao believes all the bull***t he writes.  I hope he's a better pilot than he is a businessman!!!

Now, when is Hamish going to post that video on You Tube?

[Anmer]

An interesting and revealing post by Tarbat, especially as he always denied receiving "confidential" information from AirNav.

Hamish and I had many a debate with him about this in the past. 

"I don't need anyone telling me to "wise up" when it comes to Airnav.  I probably know more about who does what within Airnav than most.  In fact I probably know more about their development plans as well, having tested some of it, and even been consulted on some aspects.

I just find it frustrating when developments get delayed.  I can guess why the RBv5 software has been delayed, and I can also understand why Airnav won't say publicly what the delay is.  But it's frustrating for end-users to not know if the more serious bugs are going to be fixed in RBv4, or if they'll have to wait for RBv5 for the fixes.

For example, during the ShipTrax development, I knew why the release was delayed, since it was me that found the problems that delayed the launch.  But I always agreed not to discuss in public the contents of emails with Airnav Development.

One question.  Did Birdie (Singapore) get the equatorial bug fix in an early release of RBv5?  Or a patched RBv4?"

Not that this excuses AirNav's failure to deliver bug fixes or for screwing up its business plan.   And since ShipTrax was delayed by 3 years, Tarbat must have found a shed load of problems. 

http://www.airnavsystems.com/forum/index.php?topic=7103.msg82344#msg82344

[tarbat]

An interesting and revealing post by Tarbat, especially as he always denied receiving "confidential" information from AirNav.

What?  I thought I'd always made it clear that I'm an AirNav beta tester.  AirNav have also sometimes asked for my input to design decisions, on the understanding that their development plans are not to be shared on public forums.  Who do you think provided solutions for DF20/21 decoding, SQLite database design, silhouettes, route lookups, SAR tracking, 3D model design, AIS sharing, OSM mapping, etc.  Other than free use of beta hardware/software, I've never received any payment for this, I just do it for the fun of it.

[Anmer]

AirNav have also sometimes asked for my input to design decisions, on the understanding that their development plans are not to be shared on public forums.  Who do you think provided solutions for DF20/21 decoding, SQLite database design, silhouettes, route lookups, SAR tracking, 3D model design, AIS sharing, OSM mapping, etc.

Sorry Brandao, I take it back.

It's all Tarbat's fault. 

By the way, I hope you're declaring the free hardware/software on your tax return?  The Government is cracking down on this sort of thing. 

[viking9]

Chris,

How does ANRB track SAR when they mostly use AIS?

Tom

[tarbat]

How does ANRB track SAR when they mostly use AIS?

It doesn't.  ShipTrax tracks SAR helicopters.

[Anmer]

As expected, another load of waffle from AirNav.  But 2/10 for coming up with a new excuse:

"We would first like to apologize for the delay in replying to this thread. Unfortunately one of our team members has had a serious personal problem 7 days ago and we were waiting for his feedback to properly answer the points raised on this thread. We really hope you understand this situation.

Despite not yet visible we are working hard on the background on 3 RadarBox related projects. Unfortunately we cannot disclose details due to commercial reasons (we understand this is frustrating for users so interested in this project like you but unfortunately this forum is followed by thousands of members daily). Things are progressing quite well and we are doing our best to release one of the project in BETA before the end of August.

This year has been marked by the development of such projects as well as a continuous development on the ShipTrax/ShipSpotting.com front where we having a great success - have a visit to shipspotting.com and check the improvements made to the site recently with the addition of AIS and, currently, with the development of mobile solutions for iPad/iPhone/Android. We have also done a lot of stabilization development on our servers which is finally giving good results.

We are totally aware of the current problems with the RadarBox Windows software - especially the Equator Hole bug and we are working on it: a new version, V4.04 has been sent to users in those areas but we are still experiencing other bugs related to this problem.

In resume we are working hard and all of our users will be be very happy to what we are planning to release before the end of August which will bring a new dimension to the RadarBox world. We understand it is frustrating for you not to get more details about these projects but please be confident on our work and our efforts to continue to grow on the Virtual RadarBox hobby."

The good news is that, with a few sycophantic exceptions, most of the AirNav forum members aren't being duped by this load of BS.

Please note.  There's no year mentioned after "August".

http://www.airnavsystems.com/forum/index.php?topic=7103.msg82366#msg82366

[Anmer]

Reading between the lines, my guess is the August event won't be a RadarBox software release but the launch of RadarBox24.com.

That's where Brandao thinks he'll get revenue.  The RadaBox receiver and software is a dead product.

And all the talk about ShipTrax and Shipspotting.com is vapourware too.

Brandao hasn't posted on the forum since February 2012:

"Steve, you can check AirNav ShipTrax forum at:
http://www.airnavsystems.com/forum/index.php?board=7.0

There you will find dozens of ShipTrax users and AirNav Systems support ready to help you with all your questions. "

In fact, I could only find 5 ShipTrax "owners" posting in the ShipTrax section of the AirNav forum.  Or 6 if I include Tarbat.

[tarbat]

And all the talk about ShipTrax and Shipspotting.com is vapourware too.

Vapourware?  I don't think so - http://www.shipspotting.com/ais/index.php

Although I didn't think we were allowed to discuss ship tracking on this forum

[Anmer]

Although I didn't think we were allowed to discuss ship tracking on this forum

I wasn't "discussing ship tracking" merely exposing the BS that your favourite virtual radar supplier dishes out.  Maybe, as others have commented, you're too close to the wood?

Brandao is a lying toad of the highest order and I'm happy to see him in Court.  Maybe you should "get wise" or are the freebies too much to give up?