ss channel

[woodburner]

Great Idea!

I hope the heads of state at shopsmith recognize the potential this has. It's a great idea and I hope they get it up and running with project steps and ideas.

One other thing i saw to the right of the screen is a window showing a photo of the overhead router, and when you clicked on a link below the photo, it showed a plan of a cupboard and below that a parts list, and now the biggest thing I saw was, now wait for it:
A sales link that took me to a photo of the 520 and below that it said: SALE OF THE CENTURY, Scott, You can get a FREE Mark V 520 while supplies last:D . WHAT! WAIT A MINUTE! But when I tried to click on the link, it took me no where. I'm sure it was just a test, but wow, a free Shopsmith 520. Is that real? I'm going to try to check this out and get back to everyone what I found out.

Again, what a great idea. I hope they go for it!

[dusty]

Great minds........ I too saw that. "Scott Free - While Supplies Last"

Great eye catcher, great offer, very effective marketing tactic. But don't hold your breathe.

I called Customer Service and guess what. They know nothing about such an offer. I conclude that this was just an attention getter. A tool that Nick used to show what could be done in an online presentation. Notice that you could click on the cupboard exploded view, and the list of materials. He even spoke to the options in the "Proof of Concept" and referenced the great give away as being inconceivable.

[Nick]

No, folks. We're not giving away free Mark V 520s...yet. The bogus ad is the result of my own quirky sense of humor and the unfortunate fact that I missed that day in kindergarten when they explained the difference between work and play.

What you guys have stumbled upon is a semi-secret test of a live, interactive webcast technology that would allow Shopsmith to deliver demonstrations and educational programs and allow you to ask questions and make comments during the webcast. Drew Actermann (my co-instructor) and I wrote the initial code in HTML and JAVA. We cast this live to a small audience on May 18, then recast it as an "on demand" streaming video so others could review it and comment. Bob Folkerth was pleased with the initial result, and we are now refining the code and our webcasting skills for a public demonstration. We hope to announce an online "Sawdust Session" sometime in the very near future. If this demo comes off well and proves helpful to our users, it will be followed by other programs.

Obviously, I can't say a great deal at this time. It's not so much that our plans are confidential, it's that they are in constant flux. This technology has so much potential and so many possible applications, that it's difficult to sort out what we should do first. Also, we are limited as to how much we can do by manpower and money. I'm currently thinking through a reasonable schedule of experiments and expenditures that will result in an effective educational program and a profitable marketing channel without overstressing our small IT staff or our (even smaller) bank account.

Thank you for your kinds words and for pointing out the problems with the audio and browser compatibility. The intermitent audio was caused by my inexperience with the type of mike I was given. Notice that the sound cuts out every time I turn my head away from the pick-up. A high-quality lavelier microphone with fix this.

Browser incompatibility is a much thornier problem. For the "proof of concept" webcast, we were limited to using Windows Media Encoder (because it was free), and consequently our only output was a .wmv video file. We're currently looking at several different encoders as well as code that could sense your browser and send you either the right output to fit your platform or the plug-ins you need to view our output. Don't put too much stock in the FAQ; I wrote that early on in this experiment and included it only as an example of the sort of help we could provide to users. The code has already evolved past it and the FAQ will have to be totally rewritten before we go public.

Let me close be assuring you that Shopsmith is as excited about the "Shopsmith Channel" as you all seem to be. For over 50 years, Shopsmith's cornerstone has been demonstration and education. However, $3/gallon gasoline and $100/night motels have made it very difficult to bring these demos and educational programs to you as of late. Perhaps Hands Online! is not as warm and fuzzy as a live appearance by Rick or Spike, but it is nonetheless an effective and economical way for us to communicate.

In another thread, Alan Cooke wrote: "I think if SS put some SERIOUS effort into connecting it's users together it would profit exponentially from it's efforts." We hear you, Alan. And -- God willing and the crick don't rise -- that's what we're doing.

With all good wishes,

[Bruce]

I have had a Mac for 7 days, and still have not found the "Delete" key. Where do I find Flip4Mac?

Perhaps you're joking, but it's the one labeled DELETE. ]here[/url] for Flip4Mac.

[rkh2]

Thanks for sharing the information with us Nick. I for one, and I'm sure from reading the messages in this thread, that there are a bunch of us SS users looking forwarding to having the SS channel launched. I always enjoyed the Travelling Academies, but with this new technology, you can view the information over and over again which is very educational and it will be easier to retain it. I do hope that the TA’s somehow can be continued other than on the west coast, as the joy of meeting other SS owners was an enjoyable experience, plus the instructors always were first class and very knowledgeable about the tools and woodworking in general. Having been a SS owner for over 16 years and many years prior wishing to get one, I am all for whatever SS has to do to continue providing us with their products and the support they give to us on how to use them. Again, my hat off to you for the effort you and Drew put forth in this trial video. Looking forward to the "Sawdust Session" you mentioned.

[alancooke]

I believe this IS a serious effort to coneect SS users and will pay big dividends. Thanks Nick and SS team, we're behind you 100%!

[jcbrowne]

Nick and SS staff,

This will be a long hoped dream for those that cannot attend workshops due to distance or even economics. It will also give a new impetus to SS as more tool searchers are provided concrete glimpses of the capacities of this tool.

It will, undoubtedly, become a market promotional tool that will contribute to overcome the present financial hump. It is my hope that it will result in a needed expansion and reinstating of those that temporarily and circumstantially needed to lighten the payroll.

More so it will contribute to enhance SS and act as a lure to many more to consider the excellency and scope of the Mark V.

Keep up the good work.

[paulmcohen]

Perhaps you're joking, but it's the one labeled DELETE. ]here[/URL] for Flip4Mac.

Flig4Mac came with may computer but it was never installed

As for DELETE I am complete serious, the thing labeled DELETE is actually BACKSPACE. If you look at a typewritter (if they exist any more) you will see that is where the backspace key is, or look at any Windows keyboard. DELETE deletes the letter you are on or the file or email mesage. Backspace does something very different depending on the application.

[Bruce]

Flig4Mac came with may computer but it was never installed

As for DELETE I am complete serious, the thing labeled DELETE is actually BACKSPACE. If you look at a typewritter (if they exist any more) you will see that is where the backspace key is, or look at any Windows keyboard. DELETE deletes the letter you are on or the file or email mesage. Backspace does something very different depending on the application.

Paul, check your private mail.