Posted: 01 Feb 2006 at 1:53pm | IP Logged

It looks like NASA changed the webpages that SATALERT uses for the viewing times.

I am currently looking into seeing whats needed to modify SATALERT for the new format...stay tuned

Posted: 17 Feb 2006 at 3:31am | IP Logged

It has been now more than half a month that Satalert doesn't work at all (see my message of Tue 31 Jan 2006  09:29:40 +0100) and that it can only when John gets time to find how to change it to fit the new NASA page.

Then I find it incorrect that the selling page on Handango, the selling page on Omnisoft, and all the forum pages unless this one and the one linked above, continue to advertize and sell Satalert (albeit with the opportunity to try it) without a single word about the fact that this program won't work at all until it is rewritten. This can be a $6.26 after try scam, it remains a scam. Hello John, do your homework!

Paris, Fri 17 Feb 2006 10:31:25 +0100

Posted: 17 Feb 2006 at 7:05am | IP Logged

Hi Michel,

Basically, selling a $7 program once or twice a week doesn't exactly pay my bills. So, my day work kinda needs to take priority  That is why SATALERT has not been updated yet.

As far as this being a scam....I removed SATALERT for sale from all sources, including my own website. Does this meet your satisfaction?

I would offer you a refund, but since you purchased SATALERT over 4 months ago, Handango doesn't offer refunds after 30 days.

In addition, you will notice on This Page that I officially only offer a 3-month warranty against NASA format changes. So, technically you are outside of that period and are not entitled to a free update. But, since I never charged anyone for any of the SATALERT updates in the past, I would like to keep doing that. All I ask in return is some patience.

Posted: 17 Feb 2006 at 8:07am | IP Logged

No John, I have been amply satisfied with Satalert, you replied quite helpfully to any of my requests, so I enjoyed much watching ISS, and if one owes to the other it's me, so a refund would be quite inappropriate.

I just wanted to point that leaving the selling pages unupdated wasn't fair to the unaware readers - and would even mislead people about you and your work. I see that I have been understood still faster and deeper than I dreamed, so removing Satalert from sale is more than needed - and may be inappropriate in the opposite way: I think you could have kept the selling pages as they were, with just a bold red banner saying something like:

Satalert is no more working: as of Wed 1st Feb 2006, NASA has changed the format of the data. We are thinking of what to do. Meanwhile the program has been removed from sale and will be brought back only if and when we get the time to update it to the new NASA format. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

For the warranty and eventual refund...

(Of course this would need some decision and explanation about eventual refund offer to other people - since I don't want or deserve or need it IMO, I am not interested thus not aware of the existing conditions and the implied offer to make).

Thanks again for your prompt and forthcoming reaction.

Paris, Fri 17 Feb 2006  15:07:10 +0100

Posted: 02 Apr 2006 at 6:32pm | IP Logged

Hi Michel,

I am ready to start working on the SATALERT update, but when I click *ANY* city on this page:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/index. cgi

It comes up blank!

Is anyone else seeing visibility times, or are yours also blank?

Posted: 03 Apr 2006 at 4:06pm | IP Logged

NASA just replied and said the problem has been fixed...and yes the pages are working now.

So, now I can start working on the update

Posted: 03 Apr 2006 at 4:37pm | IP Logged

 Very good news! Hope you can sort it out

Paris, Mon 3 Apr 2006  22:35:25 +0200

Posted: 09 May 2006 at 1:26am | IP Logged

Hi,

Any time to work on this problem.

I really enjoyed the SATALERT program.

I miss it!