New IMatch 5 Website ready

[Richard]

Efficient and easy to use whether you have 20,000 or 200,000 files to manage.

The tends to sound like a fixed range of 20,000 to 200,000 files.

Efficient and easy to use whether you have 200 or over 200,000 files to manage. 

[Richard]

I cannot image using anything else to organize my digital media. — John Zeman, semi pro photographer / webmaster, Sac City Iowa.

Hey John, Did you mean to say imagine but wrote image?

[Richard]

Hi Mario,

I would love to see a testimonial for JohnTax.
If you will recall he runs his office with IMatch 3.
See: http://ptforum.photoolsweb.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=57257&Searchpage=1&Main=8878&Words=John+%2B+Tax+%2B+Mary&Search=true#Post57257

Should I try to contact him?

[jch2103]

(Probably) final version of the IMatch 5 web site now on-line:

http://www.photools.com/im5/

(password see above).

For some reason, I'm having trouble with the page freezing up in Chrome after I enter the password; after a while, Chrome says the page is unresponsive. Seems to work OK in Firefox, at the moment, though.

[Mario]

Sorry. I use Chrome only to access gmail and my web master tools. I don't want let Google into my web site or the protected area (it's closed for spiders etc. at the time because I don't want to get the word out yet).

I don't trust chrome at all, nobody knows what Google is transmitting...I will do a test when the site is officially open, but not earlier.

IE and Firefox work.

[P.Jones]

(Probably) final version of the IMatch 5 web site now on-line:

http://www.photools.com/im5/

(password see above).

I've added a slider to show some more screen shots without using up more space.
Some rewording.
Made it clear that the user profiles can be clicked by adding buttons. This also looses up the side a bit.

Added the user testimonials some of you have thankfully provided. @All: If you have to say something quotable about IMatch, with your name under it, please post to this thread. User testimonials build trust.

Can I ask which password to use for this please

[P.Jones]

Its OK I found it

[jch2103]

Sorry. I use Chrome only to access gmail and my web master tools. I don't want let Google into my web site or the protected area (it's closed for spiders etc. at the time because I don't want to get the word out yet).

I don't trust chrome at all, nobody knows what Google is transmitting...I will do a test when the site is officially open, but not earlier.

IE and Firefox work.

Obviously your choice. However:
1. Until the latest iteration of the web page, Chrome was working perfectly. Now I just get a blank page with the message 'Waiting for www.photools.com...'. Must have been a recent change that caused it to stop working. (I notice that Google Analytics now shows up on the Ghostery scan.)
2. You'll be missing quite a few potential users if Chrome users can't access the page (see summary table at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers : Chrome share ~= IE share + Firefox share). I assume you'll open it up when the site goes fully live.

[BanjoTom]

Suggested corrections, in the testimonials that are now accessible by sliders:

John Zeman: 

I cannot image using anything else to organize my digital media.
— John Zeman, semi pro photographer / webmaster, Sac City Iowa.

should probably say "I cannot imagine . . . "

- - - - -

Ted Cash's testimonial says: 

I have about 200,000 photos taken by my wife and I in 60 countries over the last 50 years;

should be ". . . taken by my wife and me . . . "   

These are minor corrections, of course; in general I LIKE the testimonials very much and think they add a lot to the site.

[ianrr]

(password see above).  Have done a search on each page and cannot see it any where, so could someone please advise this so I can have a look, thanks

[jch2103]

(password see above).  Have done a search on each page and cannot see it any where, so could someone please advise this so I can have a look, thanks

https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=2163.msg13750#msg13750

[ianrr]

Thanks for that.

[Sorted]

Just taken a quick look at the finished (nearly) web site and I must say that it is very impressive. A prospective customer will be overwhelmed by the amount of information you've supplied and the flexibility of IM5.

[Mario]

Obviously your choice. However:
1. Until the latest iteration of the web page, Chrome was working perfectly. Now I just get a blank page with the message 'Waiting for www.photools.com...'. Must have been a recent change that caused it to stop working. (I notice that Google Analytics now shows up on the Ghostery scan.)
2. You'll be missing quite a few potential users if Chrome users can't access the page (see summary table at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers : Chrome share ~= IE share + Firefox share). I assume you'll open it up when the site goes fully live.

I've made a quick test with Chrome and it works without problems at all. Tried under W7 and W8.1.

[Mario]

Just taken a quick look at the finished (nearly) web site and I must say that it is very impressive. A prospective customer will be overwhelmed by the amount of information you've supplied and the flexibility of IM5.

Hopefully there is not too much info on the first page to drive visitors away. It's always a balance act.

[sinus]

Just taken a quick look at the finished (nearly) web site and I must say that it is very impressive. A prospective customer will be overwhelmed by the amount of information you've supplied and the flexibility of IM5.

Hopefully there is not too much info on the first page to drive visitors away. It's always a balance act.

Yes, it is a balance act ... but I think, you have got the right balance!

For me it looks very good, a good balance  between Design and Information! Well done!

[Richard]

For me it looks very good, a good balance  between Design and Information!

I fully agree with Markus.

As I was reading how Paul uses IMatch it occurred to me that the New IMatch 5 Website would make a wonderful "Teaser" if more folks could see it as it is today. Based on ignorance of all implications I would make it available to all IMatch users. Maybe even the general public.

When someone clicks on [Download Free Trial Version] they are taken to the download page with has no mention at all the IMatch 5 exists. Much less that it is in the final stages of Beta testing.

I am thinking of a gradual build to the public release of IMatch 5.
1. Let existing IMatch users access the New IMatch 5 Website.
2. Let the general public access the New IMatch 5 Website.
3. At the download page include some mention of IMatch 5, its current status, and a link to the New IMatch 5 Website.
4. Let existing IMatch users download the free trial version with the understanding it is still a Beta version.
5. Let the general public download the free trial version with the understanding it is still a Beta version.

Again based on my ignorance, the main problem that I can see with the above steps is that it could generate a ton of email that you really don't have time to deal with. On the plus side you will be, in effect, expanding the Beta test to old forum members and then the general public.

[Mario]

Hi, Richard

There is a teaser banner right at the front page of photools.com.
Plus the banner in the old user forum.
Plus search engines already list IMatch 5.

I will open the IMatch 5 site soon to the public anyway, because the official release of IMatch 5 is almost there.
I have the site ready, the connection with the share-it/DigitalRiver shopping system, the press information, reviewer guide etc.
So the "infrastructure" to roll out IMatch 5 is in place. This was quite a project all by itself.

I even have already generated the voucher codes for all users with a 3.5 and higher license  - which allows you to purchase IMatch 5 at a fair discount.

I need to fix some final bugs before going live (we will of course not have an empty bug list before the release) and implement the reminder of the "evaluation version / expire) functionality. From my point of view we will have one or two more Beta releases, and that's it 

And over the weekend I checked out all major (and some minor) DAM vendors to get a price point for IMatch 5. I don't want to compete with price tags like 79,95$ because that software is rubbish and has 1/20th of the IMatch functionality. And I don't want to place IMatch in price areas like 499,00 US$ (FotoStation) or 2000US$ (Extensis). I will set a fair price and (most) users will consider it fair.

I've put a lot of work and money into IMatch 5 and making a buck from it will allow me to continue to work on it, buy the licenses to migrate it to 64-Bit etc. And I have so many cool ideas on my list and also many useful and cool ideas here in the feature area. I'll bee busy as a bee after IMatch 5 is out for sure. Happy days!

[sinus]

From my point of view we will have one or two more Beta releases, and that's it 

[Mario]

Oh, yes. I may even take the first week off since three years when the initial rush is over and everybody can work happily with IMatch 5.

[Richard]

Plus search engines already list IMatch 5.

I had not done a search for IMatch in many years. Back then one had to know to pick the right site. I just did a search and was amazed at what I got. One I liked was: http://photo-organizing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/imatch-review.html
Until today I had no idea that Consumer Reports had reviewed IMatch. I did not understand this comment: "However, adjusting your images is rather difficult because you have to perform the edits while looking at a small preview window." Did they contact you prior to that review?

[Richard]

There is a teaser banner right at the front page of photools.com.

Nothing that I know of holds a candle to the New IMatch 5 Website. I consider most of what exists as being made obsolete by the New IMatch 5 Website. In case you had not noticed I am thrilled with the New IMatch 5 Website. 

[Mario]

I'm usually not contacted prior or afterwards. Only print magazines contact me sometimes to check the facts.

I will push IMatch 5 into all channels (press and photo/DAM-related bloggers with a minimum of reach) so we'll see a lot more of that soon - for the IMatch 5 product.

I also plan to open IMatch for share-it/Digital River affiliates. This means that people can make money by selling IMatch via their web site. They only need to register with share-it/DigitalRiver as an affiliate (free, no strings attached) and then they can contact me when they want to sell IMatch. If I agree they get a special link and when somebody buys IMatch via this link, they get the usual share. That may be interesting for DAM-related or photography-related web sites with some reach.

I now also have the option to create time-limited or number-limited (first 100 visitors) vouchers. Print magazines which include a DVD often ask for a special "light" or discounted version they can distribute on their DVD. In the future I can offer them a time-limited (e.g. 60 days) voucher with a 10% or so discount. If one of their readers purchases IMatch and enters that code he gets 10% off the full price.

I'm not sure yet if and when I will use that new feature, but it's good to have it. I plan to do a bit of marketing for IMatch 5 

[Mario]

There is a teaser banner right at the front page of photools.com.

Nothing that I know of holds a candle to the New IMatch 5 Website. I consider most of what exists as being made obsolete by the New IMatch 5 Website. In case you had not noticed I am thrilled with the New IMatch 5 Website. 

Well, thank you very much,Sir!
Since you did a lot of proof-reading (and many other users here also helped to shape it, review it, change it, change it again, ...) it's basically a team effort. And when a user points somebody at the photools.com web site they can tell how hard it was to get there.

I consider most of what exists as being made obsolete by the New IMatch 5 Website.

Yes. I will remove the old stuff at the same time the new stuff goes live. The press section is already open (protected) and I will soon start to contact some pres people. They usually (and rightfully so) don't review Beta products, but as soon as IMatch 5 is out, I will give them press licenses so they can do their tests (and hopefully write positive reviews).

[Richard]

I did not get much with a search for "DAM" but I did for "Digital Image Management". Via http://www.capterra.com/digital-asset-management-software I learned that there are a lot more DAM applications then I imagined.
IMatch is listed but (HINT) needs a lot of reviews. At this time it has none. And it also shows "Vendor has not completed this information." too many times.
http://www.capterra.com/digital-asset-management-software/spotlight/126559/IMatch/photools%20com

[jch2103]

I've made a quick test with Chrome and it works without problems at all. Tried under W7 and W8.1.

Sorry, Mario, I'm still having problems with Chrome accessing the site on my W7 desktop. But no problems with my W8 laptop (same version of Chrome). I'll try figure out what the issue is (must be on my end).

[Mario]

I did not get much with a search for "DAM" but I did for "Digital Image Management". Via http://www.capterra.com/digital-asset-management-software I learned that there are a lot more DAM applications then I imagined.
IMatch is listed but (HINT) needs a lot of reviews. At this time it has none. And it also shows "Vendor has not completed this information." too many times.
http://www.capterra.com/digital-asset-management-software/spotlight/126559/IMatch/photools%20com

Capterra is one of the sites which just collects software from everywhere and produces boiler-plate listings. Then they write to you to complete the form, and optionally to pay for better listings or a higher ranking. There are many of these sites out there and I generally don't bother at all. When you search Capterra for asset management you get a page with maybe 50 or more products. Most are enterprise or specific market segments. Way to crowded to find anything useful. There's no point to add IMatch there. The same is true for most of the other the software/shareware/... aggregator sites. Their sole purpose is to collect as many entries as possible to drive search engine traffic to their site to sell more ads.

Much more effective to get more Facebook likes and reviews on DAM- and photography-related sites.

[Richard]

In the beginning there was this post:
                  Topic: IMatch 5 Public Beta available for download
which has been read 16,488 times. That made me wonder how many of those readers followed through and downloaded IMatch 5.

It should be interesting how the numbers for downloads of the trial version pile up. My guess is that by 2014-06-30 2400 GMT there will have been >16 K downloads of trial and licensed versions.

[Mario]

SMF does not count unique reads so the 16K reads may be from 500 users only 

[mastodon]

Capterra is one of the sites which just collects software from everywhere and produces boiler-plate listings. Then they write to you to complete the form, and optionally to pay for better listings or a higher ranking. There are many of these sites out there and I generally don't bother at all. When you search Capterra for asset management you get a page with maybe 50 or more products. Most are enterprise or specific market segments. Way to crowded to find anything useful. There's no point to add IMatch there. The same is true for most of the other the software/shareware/... aggregator sites. Their sole purpose is to collect as many entries as possible to drive search engine traffic to their site to sell more ads.

Much more effective to get more Facebook likes and reviews on DAM- and photography-related sites.

It would be nise to see a comparing table, that include features that distinct them. Ex. on toptenreviews most of the softwares have most of the features. So, what are the differences?

[Mario]

It would be nise to see a comparing table, that include features that distinct them. Ex. on toptenreviews most of the softwares have most of the features. So, what are the differences?

These "feature comparison tables" are used often, but are pretty useless. It's mostly eye candy for unsuspecting users. You can always tweak the tables so your product looks good compared to others.

And, at least here in Germany, you can get sued if something you put into such a table is not entirely correct. Or the company behind the product you mention just thinks that something is not entirely correct and has a lawyer with too much free time. Even mentioning other products in the wrong way on your web site can get you sued. I won't go there.

[medgeek]

Interesting.  I thought that here in the US, we have a very litigious society.  Germany sounds at least as litigious, and perhaps even more so.

[Mario]

German universities produce too many lawyers...