I'm out in Phoenix this week at FileMaker Devcon, a 4-day geekfest about all things FileMaker.

After the first couple of days, I've seen some incredible new technology being developed with FileMaker Pro 9; my clients will be seeing some of these great features in their database solutions, and you'll also see a new look to the Longterm Solutions site before too long--a radical new interface, a nice new look to things, all based on technology I'm working with as we speak.

There's almost no limit to what can be done these days with FileMaker; with version 9, powerful databases can be developed that can interface with other technologies to provide some cutting-edge solutions. Count on Longterm Solutions to bring these to you, along with the excellent service you've come to expect from us.

OK, so I waited in line for 3-1/2 hours for my iPhone 3G. Did I get it? Did I get it activated? How do I feel about it today? More after the jump...

At 8:05 AM I was in the store, waiting in a small line that snaked around the first table in the store. By 8:30 I was beginning to wonder why it was taking so long to activate the first group of phone buyers, which numbered about 20.

Finally, at 8:30 AM, I was matched up with one of the Apple Store handlers and led to a table, where I made my selection of a black iPhone 3G 16GB. I paid with my credit card, swapped my cellular account from my gen 1 iPhone to the new one, and within 3 minutes was led over to a table with a dozen MacBook Pros on it. The Apple employee connected my new iPhone to the MacBook and iTunes, and clicked the button on the iPhone to connect and activate the phone.

Nothing. Nada. Bupkus. Diddly. Nyet.

For the next half-hour, all of us at this table tried in vain to connect to Apple's activation server; we couldn't tell what the problem was, and I assumed we were queued up for connection, and that activation would occur momentarily.

One of the other guys at the table disconnected, reconnected, and then almost immediately got activated. First success!

Then we all started trying that, and within 2 minutes all of us were activated-this included the guy standing across from me, who had been the first in line, and who had lined up the day before to get the jump on everyone.

At 9:05 AM I left the store with my iPhone activated and working perfectly. I've loaded it up with my previously-saved data, added a couple of dozen apps, and have had a chance to test it out in the real world using 3G.

My evaluation after just more than 24 hours: incredible. Again. Not only does the new device have all the luster and coolness of the first-gen device, but it now connects to the Internet using 3G, which is far superior to the glacial speed of Edge.

Just to sum up what is in this little wafer in the way of radio receivers: Bluetooth, GSM, 3G, GPS, Edge. All in a tiny little device. Amazing.

Once the furor dies down, you'll be able to stroll into any Apple Store and have a new iPhone 3G in a matter of minutes; at this point this is what I'd recommend--but don't miss out on an innovative device that is quickly going to dominate the marketplace.

I'm sitting in line at the local Nashville Apple Store; I woke up at 4AM, was in line at 4:30, and still managed only to be number 25 in line.

I was here for the first release on 6/29/07, when I was #33 in line; I arrived at 8AM for a 6PM release, and was out of here by 6:12 PM with my new phone. Did I regret sitting here for 10 hours? Nah, I had my MacBook with me, had a weak wireless signal (which I have this morning as I sit outside the mall entrance), and it's a bit of an event.

Having sat on MacWorld waiting lines in San Francisco, this is a walk in the park; I'll be in the door any moment, where we'll wait until 8AM; the closer I get to the store, the better my wireless signal gets.

So how about the software? I installed v2 of the iPhone software yesterday and installed 20 or so apps during the day. The entire process was totally painless, easy to do, and the results are nothing short of fantastic. The huge variety of available apps on day 1 is going to guarantee a huge success for this phone.

How long will it take to activate? More on that as it unfolds...

I became a Dad much later than most of my friends and siblings. When my brothers and sisters were having kids, I was traveling all over the world, playing concerts, learning to write good code, and wondering whether I would ever experience fatherhood.

Eleven years ago my son came into my life, and it changed everything. More than playing the piano, more than developing great applications or building my company, parenthood gave me the joy that I always expected that it would. Spending time with him has been great fun, and it hasn't diminished in the least.

But now he's at summer camp.

This is the first time in 11 years that I haven't spoken to him every day. I'm sure he's having fun, but I'm miserable. Someone forgot to tell me that when your kid goes off to summer camp, that it's tough for the parents.

So I was thinking about that Rodney Dangerfield movie, where he follows his son to college, moves into the dorm with him... I wonder if there's an extra bunk in Steven's cabin...

Somewhere in the 1990s, I played a show with Bo Diddley. When I heard today that he passed away, I flashed back to the concert, which was a night to remember.

Between 1990 and 2003, I used to go on the road with the Everly Brothers from time to time. Their regular keyboard player infrequently worked other tours, and I was called to sub for him during these short periods.

Needless to say, playing onstage with the Everlys was a huge honor for me. I enjoyed Don and Phil's company, was fascinated by their stories of the good old days, and loved playing their tunes every night.

Once a year, the Everlys sponsor a citywide charity concert in their hometown, Central City, Kentucky. The concerts started with a drive to raise money for radios in the town's police cars; over the years it grew, until it became an annual event, with lots of artists, most of whom are from the area. All of the artists donate their performances, and it was always a great day of music for all involved. I used to make the 90-minute drive up from Nashville, and enjoyed winding through the country to the rural backwater area of Muhlenberg County.

Central City area was the home for quite a few great musicians, including John Hartford, John Prine, Boudleau Bryant, Merle Travis, and of course the Everly Brothers. Most of these guys would show up at the annual event, and sometimes there were others as well.

One year it was Bo Diddley. The Everly Brothers Band was volunteered to back him up onstage, and I was looking forward to playing with him. Sitting on the bus backstage, I remember seeing the reflective decal on his rectangular guitar--that same reflective "naked lady" decal you often see on tractor-trailer mudflaps. In this case, however, it was on the front of his guitar... nice touch...

So we got onstage, ostensibly to play a half-hour or forty-five minutes. We played song after song, all with the famous Bo Diddley groove--that same beat that you hear in "Hand Jive;" in each tune, Bo would direct us from center-stage, taking the volume down to a whisper, then bringing it back again. After the 5th or 6th song, all with the exact same groove, it became clear that this was the drill for the rest of the tunes. Meanwhile, Don and Phil were anxious to get onstage and do their portion, so that they could drive back to Nashville before it got too late. I could see Don offstage, trying to get Bo’s attention so that he could signal him to wrap it up. No luck. We pressed on, vamping and jamming, the same Hand-Jive beat expressed in several guitar-friendly keys. Meanwhile, I could see some impatience on the side of the stage, but still we jammed. It started to get comical, with this set that refused to end--the last time I’d seen this was when I did a show where Travis Tritt was the opening act, and still a virtual unknown, played an interminable set that caused us to go onstage forty-five minutes late.

Another half-hour later, the Everlys finally came out onstage and flanked Bo--Don on one side, Phil on the other, and thanked him, as they gently guided him offstage. The set that never seemed to end finally came to a close, and I have fond memories of Bo Diddley to this day.

Once again it was proven to me that appearances can deceive.

Almost every morning, I bring my son to school, where we queue in line in the driveway, dodging schoolbuses, impatient minivans and oblivious young pedestrians.

To assist in the orderly dropoff of students, a man from the school helps to guide traffic. In 35 weeks, I never saw him smile, never saw him say hello to a single driver, or engage in any sort of friendly conversation with anyone. I made the assumption that he was an unfriendly man, and in my typical way, began to come up with what I thought were possible names for him.

On rainy days he wears a yellow rain hat and coat, giving him the appearance of the Gorton's fisherman. I took that, ran with it as I often do, came up with my own nickname, which had nothing to do with anything more than my own preconceived notions about him... I nicknamed him "the Trout," or usually, just "Trout."

So the name stuck around for 35 weeks, until a few days ago, when I picked Steven up from school, and found myself having a conversation with him. To my surprise, he didn't have a surly disposition, but a common-to-Tennessee country drawl and a non-unpleasant disposition--no smile yet, but it was a step in the right direction.

Then last night, he shocked my son and me when he was the guest soloist at the Spring band concert, where my son was an alto sax player in the first-year band. The school's music director introduced him by name, and he stepped up to a (sometimes feeding-back) microphone, produced a harmonica, and played a very decent version of "The Tennessee Waltz," backed by the Advanced Band.

As a professional musician, I admit to being somewhat jaded. However, I was already willing to concede pitch, tempo, and intonation, since I was, after all, at a band concert where 2/3 of the players were first- or second-year musicians; when some of these kids play saxophone, ducks land on the lawn. But I digress.

This guy was really pretty good! He played high on the harp, which is not easy to do without producing some awful results, and notwithstanding the feedback from the P.A., he played a very nice version of the perennial Tennessee favorite.

The point of this, of course, isn't how he sounded, but the fact that I once again leapt to a conclusion that turned out to be completely wrong. Now I'm not saying that will apply when I see him sit before a pedal steel guitar or, God forbid, brandish a banjo, but it was a good start.

At this point you may be asking if I'm going to abandon my nickname. Well, I don't know. It's such a GOOD nickname...

When I was in my 20s, I toured with an artist from Nashville; in the band was a legendary steel guitar player who I'd never met. He taught me a valuable lesson that I've never forgotten, and which is the point of this story.

For the first few months in the band, he called me Pierre (because I'm of French descent). We never actually had a normal conversation for those first months; he would just look at me and laugh. Not sure what that meant, but I don't think he took me seriously yet.

Then one night in West Virginia, I played a solo on a song and he really liked it; he called me by my name for the first time. I was on top of the world; I'd impressed this great musician, and he made a point after the concert to tell me how much he enjoyed the solo.

A year later, we were driving down the highway one morning, when he asked me about multitrack tape recorders. "Do you have one?" he asked me. I told that I did not, and he asked, "If you had one, would you use it?" Yes, I definitely would, I told him, not knowing where this was headed.

A few weeks later, we played on the Grand Ole Opry here in Nashville (I still lived in Texas at the time); since he lived in Nashville, he'd driven to the show in his car. "Go out to my car," he told me, "and get that piece of junk off the back seat. I never want to see it again." I went out to the car, not knowing what he was talking about, and there, in the back seat of his car, was a Teac 4-track tape recorder, a few reels of brand-new tape, and all the patch cords I'd need to use the machine.

Now for those of you who don't know about early multitrack tape machines, let me tell you about this machine. The Teac 4-track was the first of its kind for home enthusiasts and musicians who wanted to record at home; it made it possible to record more than one track, then add a 2nd, a 3rd, then a 4th--something that had only been possible before by using 2 machines and bouncing recordings from one machine to the next.

This guy was known for giving away things to people he liked; he gave another musician in the friend an electric bass; he gave his watch to a 3rd musician in the band. His thought was that, if he wasn't using it, he should pass it on to someone who WOULD use it. He gave away electric trains, musical equipment, jewelry--and he wasn't a wealthy man, just someone who understood how good it felt to give things away when you no longer needed them.

For me at the time, this was a huge thing; I was going through a tough period in my life, didn't have two pennies to rub together, and he knew it; he probably figured that this might brighten my spirits--and he was right. I had a great time with that machine, recorded quite a few songs with it, and used it often for six or seven years.

I finally gave the tape machine to a friend of mine when I eventually bought a different home tape machine. The lesson stuck with me though--give things away when you don't need them, pass them on, brighten someone else's life, and it might come back around for you someday. The important thing though, is to give it away with zero expectations.

A little over 10 years ago, my best friend did something extremely kind for me; I wanted to repay his kindness somehow, and came up with the idea to buy him a TiVo, which I knew he didn't have. So I called him up, drove over to his house, and surprised him with this TiVo, joyfully helping him to set it up in his living room. I felt like a million bucks; I'd given this gift with such pleasure, and it felt great. I got in my car afterwards, drove away from his house in the country at 9 at night, cruising down the dark country road towards home. That's when it happened.

I came over a slight rise, when I saw a large black dog in my headlights; too late to stop, I swerved, but hit the hapless animal with my right headlight. The dog flew into the ditch beside the road, and in the darkness I jerked to a stop and ran over to see if it was okay. It was twitching violently, apparently in the throes of death. I ran to the house nearby, guessing that the dog belonged to the residents, and knocked on the door. In tears I explained that I'd just killed their dog; I'll never forget standing over the poor animal as the woman confirmed that he'd just died, and I felt devastated.

The irony was huge. One minute I'd felt like a million bucks, the next minute I felt terrible. A good deed never goes unpunished, I thoguht.

Okay, so now it's ten years later. I have a collection of old keyboards that I'll never use, that I'd love to give away. One keyboard was purchased in 1986 for $5000, and is probably worth $50, if that much. I put an ad on Craigslist, and said that the first responder could have the keyboard, completely free.

Within 2 minutes of posting, the phone rang. Did I still have the keyboard, a man asked? Sure, come get it, I said. After I hung up, another 5 calls came in before I pulled the ad.

Twenty minutes later the guy showed up at my door, covered in tattoos (not that there is anything with tattoos), and sporting plumber's crack. I helped him load the synth in his car, and he drove off. I was left with the conviction that this guy was clueless about what this keyboard did, how to work it, or what its history was. Meanwhile, I'd spoken to a couple of really nice guys on the phone, who lamented that they'd not called first, and who said that I was very kind to give away the keyboard for free. Again I felt great about doing something that was so altruistic.

Then I got the email this morning. It was from a guy here in Nashville, who wanted me to know that the synth was back on Craigslist again, this time for sale, complete with photos of the road case. The jerk I'd given it to was now selling it!

I fired off an angry email to the recipient of the synth, telling him what I thought of him, in no uncertain terms. I never expected a reply, but wanted to vent my ire; I should know better than to fire off angry emails, but I did it nevertheless.

Less than five minutes later, he replied; he told me that he'd realized the synth wasn't right for him, and asked whether I'd considered that the recipient of the keyboard might just turn around and sell the synth. I hadn't considered it...

He offered to return the synth, so I emailed him back, told him to please return it so I could give it to someone who wanted it. I didn't hear back from him, and assumed that he'd had second thoughts, and that I'd never hear back from him.

An hour later the synth appeared at the curb in front of my house; the guy didn't carry it up to the door, didn't ring the doorbell, just dumped the heavy roadcase at the curb and drove off. I dragged it back into the house, and am going to give it away to the 2nd caller from yesterday, who knew all about these keyboards and really wanted to have it.

So I suppose this story has a happy ending, although it did remind me of the incident with the TiVo and the unfortunate dog. I still believe in giving away equipment that I no longer use--but I'm not giving away my original 1986 Mac Plus. Who knows when you might need an 8-megahertz machine with a whopping 1 megabyte of RAM, a single floppy drive and an 8-inch screen!

Bob Patin is proud to announce that he is now a FileMaker 9 Certified Developer.

I just watched an interesting segment on TV about Denmark and happiness. It got me to thinking about Americans' views on happiness, and what we seem to find most important.

In Denmark, for example, the citizens have: free health care, free retirement homes, free education all the way through college, 100% paid maternity leaves for 6 months, 6-week vacations, and 37-hour work weeks. I know what you're thinking, and they talked about that too: the average middle-class citizen pays approximately 50% of his or her wages in taxes.

Now, let's compare that with our system here in America: we don't get free health care, we don't get free retirement home living, we don't get 100% paid maternity leaves in most companies, and we work longer hours. We pay somewhere around 22-30% in taxes if we're a middle-class citizen. We get free schooling through high school if we choose to use it, but college is incredibly expensive.

We have more stuff. Americans have more TVs, more stereos, increasingly-expensive cars, big houses; visit any European country and you immediately realize that most people live in smaller homes than what we have here.

And now for the kicker: in the latest study of which people are the happiest, Danes rated FIRST--top of the list. The theory was posited that they have such low expectations that they are happier as a result. Americans, by contrast, want bigger, better, more, and so we have a harder time finding happiness as a result. So the theory goes.

So why are they so happy, if they pay half their incomes in taxes, you ask? What a lousy system, you say... well, I'm not sure how I'd feel giving half my income away, but it has struck me many times how the American way of life is so different from what I've seen in Europe in particular.

Let's take France for example: they take holidays at the drop of a hat. Trips to the south of France, jaunts to the Alps, and so on. Americans seem to enjoy hating the French, but from what I've seen, the French people have a very nice life; they don't work themselves to death, they live within their means, which are much lower than ours here, and they spend more leisure time than we do here. In Denmark it's the same story; the Danes have much more vacation time, are not averse to taking off and enjoying a week on a seashore, and are certainly known for tipping a pint from time to time.

Oh, and here's another interesting statistic: Americans were 23rd on the happiness scale... we squeaked by Iraq and Afghanistan though, so I feel good about that. Here's another stat: Brits and Frenchmen live longer than Americans do.

Before you brand me a socialist, let's make this clear: I'm not advocating a 50% tax hike, and I'm not a socialist, but it does make me wonder. Are we missing some important bits here? Have we gone off on the wrong trail? We have more modern conveniences than ever--we cook meals in seconds, we have automatic everything, yet we have less free time than ever. Most of the guys I know take very few vacations, and I have to count myself in that number as well; it's no wonder we don't enjoy them, when a vacation ends up being to a theme park or some other branded tourist site. The best vacations I've had were those where I didn't really DO anything... time for another one of those.

So I suppose it's all about STUFF.

I've had an Apple TV since early 2007, when it was first released. Although it didn't receive wide praise in its first iteration, I've enjoyed the device immensely. In any given day, I listen to podcasts while I program, display my huge photo collection on my TV with music from my iTunes library playing in the background, and then watch movies at night from my movie collection.

And now there's version 2. I updated the software and firmware a couple of days ago, and decided to give the movie rental service a try. My son and I scanned the available movies, picked one out, and I clicked the RENT button. Within about 30 seconds, the movie was available for playing; we clicked the PLAY button, and after acknowledging that we had 24 hours to finish watching it (you have 24 hours to watch a rental once you start watching it), it started playing.

Playback was flawless; granted, we have a better-than-average Internet connection with a bonded T1 line (2 T1 lines bonded together for 3Mbs throughput), but the playback was perfect. It wasn't an HD movie, so I can't yet comment on how HD rentals look on my HD TV, but I expect I'll rent an HD film this weekend and try that as well.

This is the wave of the future. In a couple of years rental businesses like Blockbuster will be on the serious decline, and I already plan to drop my movie channel subscriptions from my satellite service. Apple Inc. doesn't have a library of movies to rival Netflix--yet--but it will. The ease of choosing a film on the screen, and watching it within 30 seconds, is amazing. That, combined with the very reasonable rental prices, is going to seduce movie lovers to change their rental habits to the wave of the future.

So goodbye Netflix, goodbye Blockbuster, so long DirecTV pay-per-view, see ya pay movie channels... I'm really digging the new Apple TV 2.0.

Unbeknownst to me, there is an unwritten rule somewhere. It was written in binary, compiled on a Univac, edited on a Kaypro, and stored on 8-inch disks somewhere in upstate New York. It is heretofore known as The Rule.

The Rule is very simple, and consists of a single sentence: Don't try to be funny if you're a programmer. I learned this rule earlier today, and am now in the process of deciding whether I'm going to stick to The Rule. I'm thinking not.

See, this is what happened: I was chatting with a fellow FileMaker geek who happens to live somewhere not in the U.S. I made a silly joke--not offensive, not a slur, not anything that a non-follower of The Rule would ever think twice about. It wasn't necessary funny, but it was meant as a bit of humor. I was immediately told that I'd better watch it--apparently I'd stepped on his delicate sensibilities. I'm not sure whether he was joking or not--after all, he may be a believer in The Rule.

I then tried to make clear that I was trying to be humorous... I think I managed to either irritate or bore him. No matter, the result was the same. He (in so many words) invoked The Rule.

So after much deliberation and consultation with--well, no one--I came up with what I think are the parameters of The Rule:

1. Don't try to be funny. Programmers are far too busy and focused to laugh at non-sequiturs.
2. Programmers must at all times take themselves too seriously to ever consider that someone might just be kidding.
3. Any joke that doesn't have at least 5 levels (recursion is even better) is not funny.
4. If you are a member of a forum or a mailing list that discusses programming, don't ever inject humor. A programmer might forget himself for a second and actually relax and enjoy the fact that he makes his living without lifting his butt from a chair.
5. The Rule is especially critical in mailing lists and forums where eye contact is not possible. Do not attempt to stray from topics like primary and foriegn keys; don't resist the urge to use the word schema often in conversation.

So I guess I'm going to try The Rule for a day and see how that goes. I doubt it'll work, because it already stinks.

Contract Creator 3.7 is now available. This update makes it possible to change the pension percentage, as required for all contracts after February 1, 2008.

Included in this update are a variety of bug fixes, a better user interface, and a new menu option which will ease the updating process by sending your machine's code directly to the Longterm Solutions site.

NOTE: Any contracts created with previous versions of Contract Creator will not be correct after Feb. 1, 2008, because of AFM changes in pension contributions. If you are a registered user of previous versions, you will need to update your copy.

Longterm Solutions is pleased to announce the upgrade of three more servers this year, completing our 2007 upgrade schedule.

Throughout the year, we have added lots of new hardware to make our services even better, including: 7 new servers (Apple Xserves), a natural-gas-powered backup generator, an additional T1 line, new gigabit switches.

FileMaker, Inc. has released an update for FileMaker Pro 8.5 and FileMaker Pro Advanced 8.5 for Mac OS X; the update improves compatibility with Mac OS X Leopard.

The update is available from http://www.filemaker.com/support/downloads/index.html

Updates for FileMaker Pro 9 and FileMaker Pro Advanced are now available; the new updates improve Leopard compatibility.

The update is available from http://www.filemaker.com/support/downloads/index.html

Longterm Solutions President Bob Patin, who is also a studio musician in Nashville, is pleased to announce that his new CD, "Remembering the Beatles," is now shipping.

"Remembering the Beatles" is a solo piano CD recorded in Fall 2007; any Beatles fan will know all 10 of the songs, each of which was produced by Brendan Harkin, arranged by Bob and played on a spectacular Yamaha C7 grand. You can buy copies of it on Bob's website at http://www.bobpatin.com, from CDBaby, or download songs on iTunes.

You can also hear samples from all of Bob’s CDs by going to http://www.bobpatin.com/listen.htm.

Longterm Solutions would like to thank all of our loyal clients for your business, and wish you all the best this Thanksgiving.

Although our offices will be closed over Thanksgiving weekend, you can always reach us if you should have any connectivity or site issues.

I don’t usually post information about my musical endeavors, but am eager to announce the release of two new CDs.

As some of my clients know, I’ve been a professional studio musician all my life, and have played on thousands of recording sessions over the years. In the past 7 years I’ve recorded 10 CDs, two of which are being released November 19, 2007.

The first CD is called “Remembering the Beatles,” and is a solo piano CD that I recorded from August until just last week. I’m thrilled with the way that it came out; you can hear samples of it on my personal website at http://www.bobpatin.com/listen.htm.

The second CD will be released on the 19th as well; it’s part of a series I’ve recorded for Tyrol Hills Music, and is a full-band CD. These are instrumental tracks of popular songs from the recent (and not-so-recent) past; I’m confident that most people who listen to this CD will find themselves in a great mood as they hear some of these tunes.

You can buy both of these CDs on my personal website at http://www.bobpatin.com.

FileMaker, Inc. has released an update to FileMaker Pro 9 and FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced, to fix some compatibility issues with Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). Leopard users should update their copies immediately.

To get the update, go to http://www.filemaker.com/support/downloads/index.html

It turns out that there was a bit of a false alarm about FileMaker and Leopard, at least for users in the United States.

In my testing, Contract Creator runs perfectly in Leopard, so the next update will probably be released after the first of the year, to coincide with any possible changes in AFM rate computations.

Today is my first day with Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5, for those of you who have been living in a cave these past months). I installed it this morning on my MacBook Pro, and have been running it through its paces all day.

First, and this is great news, FileMaker Pro has been running perfectly on it all day. My understanding is that there are problems for users in some countries, but not for us here in the United States. I tested Contract Creator, the contract-generation app that I developed using FileMaker, and it runs great.

I'm extremely impressed with Leopard; it has been very solid, fun to use, adds some useful new features such as Spaces (which I'm quickly learning to love) and Time Machine; the Cover Flow view in the Finder is pretty nifty.

My advice to any Mac user would be to install immediately--it's a great upgrade.

This is the latest word from FileMaker, Inc. regarding compatibility with Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard), which is being released tomorrow, 10/26/07:

We are very excited about the release of Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5). FileMaker Pro 9 and FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced generally run on Leopard although there are two known issues. We are targeting a downloadable update to be available on November 19, 2007, free of charge. Please subscribe to FileMaker News for the latest on update availability.

Here are the known issues with FileMaker Pro 9 and FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced:

- The Instant Web Publishing feature does not work.

- On Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5), each language version of FileMaker Pro 9 and FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced works only when the Mac OS System Preference "International Formats Region" is set to a specific region. For example, the English language version of FileMaker works only when the region is United States. It does not work when the region is United Kingdom, or Australia, or France, or any other region.

FileMaker Server 9 and FileMaker Server 9 Advanced currently do not deploy properly on Leopard. We are working on Leopard compatibility updates for FileMaker Server 9 and FileMaker Server 9 Advanced but do not have an estimated availability date at this time. Again, subscribe to FileMaker News for information on updates.

We have not tested earlier (pre-FileMaker 9) versions of FileMaker software on Mac OS X Leopard and do not intend to release updates for earlier versions.

My good friends Stephen Knight and Allyson Olm asked me to write a bit of music for their training video series. You can hear it on one of their new videos (I'm not yet sure which, but a friend heard it earlier tonight).

While I'm at it, I'll go ahead and plug my CDs, which are available from my personal site, http://www.bobpatin.com. A couple of new ones on the way too!

Longterm Solutions now develops PHP code using both FX.php and the FileMaker API; FileMaker, Inc. is putting a lot of resources behind the FM API, so we decided to make the leap and start writing web applications using the API. Going forward starting today, all new web applications will be developed using the FM API, although we will still work in FX.php whenever necessary. I’ve written at least 30 web apps using FX.php, enjoyed using it, and have no problems with it; however, it’s obvious that FM, Inc. is getting behind their own API, and the handwriting is on the wall, in my opinion.

FMS 9 was added to our network upon its release, and is turning out to be a great addition to our offerings. I’ve been very impressed with the new features in FileMaker Pro 9 (more on this in another blog), and the server has added some great new features as well.

Longerm Solutions is pleased to announce that we’ve added a natural-gas-powered generator; this was an addition we had contemplated for quite a while, and although we’ve not had to use it yet, it’s comforting to know that it will automatically kick into service during any power outage. Here in Tennessee we have ice storms from time to time, but with this generator, which is powered by natural gas, we can operate indefinitely from the generator with no loss of service.

We’ve now doubled our Internet connectivity, going to a pair of bonded T1 lines. Using this new pair of T1 lines, we provide close to 3.0kbs at all times, and our clients have been pleased with the speed increase.