Platypus Blog

Platypus 6.1 Build 2137 is now available from the Platypus 6.1 Download Page.  This release includes fixes for a number of major security issues.  Because of the severity of these issues, it is highly recommended that all users of Platypus 6.x upgrade to this release.  Changes in this build can be viewed from the Platypus 6.1 Revision History Page.  Details on the security fixes included in this build are covered in more detail in the Platypus 6.1 Build 2137 Release Notes.

Posted today in our forums is an integration with Motorola Canopy via their Prizm software.

The integration allows Subscriber Modules to be managed as a service by Platypus via the Prizm API.  Subscriber Modules are added, suspended, reactivated and deleted as the Platypus service is added, suspended, reactivated and deleted, allowing automatic, real-time provisioning to occur.

Bandwidth Service Plans in Prizm are also supported and can be directly related to the billing plans within Platypus.  This ensures that customers are paying for the level of service that they are receiving and also allows customers to upgrade their plans online without contacting your sales team.

A web interface to the Subscriber Module is also made available via a single click from within the Platypus interface, saving your customer service representatives valuable time troubleshooting.

We are requiring registration for the forums, so visit http://forums.ispbilling.com and register to gain access to this integration!

After migrating away from the Tucows based forums (discuss.tucows.com), I wanted to rethink the Platypus Forums prior to relaunching.  Many forums have avid users that love to help new users learn to use a particular piece of software, solve technical problems or provide value to an existing product.

As I thought about our forums and which of the above items would bring the most value to our customer base, it seems that describing the way people are using our software to work for their business provides the most value back to the community.  Therefore, the initial relaunch of the forums is focused on integrating with external systems.  We wanted to kick off this launch with the integration of Motorola Canopy Prizm and get feedback from our users on the integration (another way to add value in a forum fashion).

We are encouraging our users to share the integrations that they have written or how they are using the software in a particular way to solve a specific industry need.

We may open the forums to other types of discussion in the future, such as feedback on future feature development, beta builds and “How Tos”.

For now, support will continue to be handled via email and phone and will not be provided on the forum.

We want to build a community environment around Platypus, so join in!  The forums can be found at http://forums.ispbilling.com.

Grant Spradling, Product Manager, Platypus

An updated install set for the server and client has been released and is available on the Platypus 6.1 Download Page. This update fixes a compatibility issue on Windows 2000, which appears to be caused by a Microsoft hotfix released in June 2009.

Platypus Support, Sales and Printing will be closed on July 3rd for observation of Independence Day.

We will return to regular business hours on Monday, July 6th, 2009.

A customer requested that we add driving directions to Platypus.  This can easily be accomplished using a Scripting Command which is already built into Platypus.  Below is the example.  Enjoy!

• Go to Maintenance – Backend Utilities – Scripting Commands
• Verify that the “Form Name” is set to “Customer Maintenance”
• Press the New Button
• Enter “Driving Directions” in the Button Caption
• Verify that the Language is set to “VBScript”
• Verify that the Main function is set to “main”
• Verify that the “Visible” box is checked
• Copy and paste the command below into the “Button script” Box (starting at “sub main”, ending at “end sub”)
• Change the Address Type to the one you want to use (“billing”,”cell”,”credit card”,”home”,”shipping”,”work”)
• Change the “Start_Address” to your starting location
• Press the “Compile” button.  If errors are reported, then something was mistyped.  Delete the content and try again.
• If “Compile” doesn’t give any errors, press “Apply” followed by “OK”.
• The script should now be available for use on the general tab of the customer form.

sub main
Address_Type=”billing”
Start_Address=”800 Louisville St, Starkville, MS 39759″

For x = 1 To AddressType.ListCount
If Trim(LCase(AddressType.List(x,1))) = Trim(LCase(Address_Type)) Then
AddressType.ListItemId = x
AddressType.InteractiveChange()
End_Address=Address.txt_addr1.value
End_Address=End_Address+”,”+Address.txt_addr2.value
End_Address=End_Address+”,”+Address.txt_city.value
End_Address=End_Address+”,”+Address.txt_state.value
End_Address=End_Address+”,”+Address.txt_zip5.value
Exit For
End If
Next

lparm=”http://maps.yahoo.com/#q1=”+Escape(Start_Address)+”&q2=”+Escape(End_Address)

set WshShell = CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)
wshShell.Run lparm
set WshShell=nothing

end sub

The Platypus 6 Server installation set has been updated to install Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3 Express Edition. For more details on Service Pack 3, check out the links below.

• List of the bugs that are fixed in SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3 Readme Files
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP3 Release Notes

A refresh of Platypus 5.1 build 2042 is available from the Platypus 5.1 Download Page. Changes in this build can be viewed from the Platypus 5.1 Revision History Page.

Platypus Support, Sales and Account Management will be closed for Memorial Day on Monday, May 25th, 2009.  We will return to regular business hours on Tuesday, May 26th 2009.

Join WiNOG and Platypus in May for a free technical conference, featuring:

Exclusive information about the BTOP Grant Funding Program

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has allocated over $7 billion to the development of broadband infrastructure in rural and underserved areas in the United States.  The US Congress appropriated $4.7 billion to establish a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program for awards to eligible entities…

Platypus Q&A with Grant Spradling, Product Manger, Platypus

Platypus Product Manager, Grant Spradling, will be hosting an interactive Q&A session to solicit user feedback and to discuss upcoming features and enhancements on the Platypus roadmap.

OUTSIDE-IMPACTS Strategic Marketing

As the market demand for access connectivity has matured and evolved, Service Providers are learning that differentiation on the basis of technological prowess and knowledge is no longer sufficient in today’s competitive markets.  The days of waiting for the phone to ring are over…

Licensed Solutions, WiMAX, Motorola Canopy Technical Training and more…

Locations:

May 4th – Oklahoma City, OK
May 5th – Dallas, TX
May 6th – Houston, TX
May 7th – San Antonio, TX

Visit http://www.winog.com/register.php to signup!