FileMaker & MySQL are an Awesome Combination

Late last year we went live with a website that was fundamentally a big database that was accessed and maintained through a browser. It was fantastic because it was secure, easy to design around, flexible to port the data to other websites for other purposes, and maybe most importantly – accessible to anyone in the office that had an Internet connection and a web browser. At home, at work, on the beach, where ever – as long as they were connected to the web, they were connected to their live data.

Here's the basic web interface.

Where the app fell short was when it was time to do something like mailing labels, a custom export (first name, last name, email, etc), form letters on letterhead, or even custom searches. This all sounds easy enough. In fact I think I’ve done all this stuff in the mid-90’s with Microsoft Works. But it was a real bitch to do through the browser.

Enter FileMaker. The little database program that I’ve been working with since the mid-90’s is all grown up and does amazing tricks. One of those tricks is to let you connect to an online MySQL database to view and edit live data. Problems solved!

Here's the FileMaker view. Look at all those layouts & reports!

Once I was connected,creating custom layouts and reports was easier than ever. The FileMaker / MySQL combo gave the client the best of both worlds.

Thicksole Ships :: March 2010

Three decent-sized projects shipped through the Thicksole doors this month.  Here’s a quick pimp:

Exploring Management Flashcard iPhone App

• This is a variation on the Boone & Kurtz iPhone app we did back in December.  It looks nice, works well, and I like the idea.  You can check it out on iTunes here, or here’s the page we have on the Thicksole site.

McGraw-Hill Physiotherapy LRC

• We started doing these “Librarian Resource Centers” a couple of years ago and they keep popping up here and there.  Originally, the system was built on Drupal and that was a good call.  Since then, via a single control panel, the marketer can manage the content of seven (I think) different sites.  At the time I didn’t know there would be that many sites, but I guess I got kinda lucky in the CMS choice!  I’ll take it.    You can check it out here.

McGraw-Hill AccessAnesthesiology Blog

• Blogs are always fun and it seems like I get to learn a new move with each one.  This project was for McGraw-Hill’s AccessAnesthesiology and they wanted collapsing fields within the blog posts and pages.  After a couple of crappy solutions, I found a plugin that worked well, AND was easy for the marketer to use.  That’s key in the final projects ::  everything has to work and it has to be able to be updated and maintained by non-tech personnel.  This one hit the mark.  Check it out here.

At the end of April, if all goes well, I’ll have a fresh batch of shipments!

Thicksole Ships :: February 2010 Update

Instead of pimping every project we ship around here, an end of the month wrap up is the direction I’m leaning.  So, here are the projects that shipped out of the Thicksole doors in February 2010:

• Stamford Review Update
  http://stamfordreview.com
  .
• Wiley Geodiscoveries Blog Site
  http://wileygeodiscoveriesupdates.com/
  .
• Techshelf Interview with Dave Mark and Jeff LaMarche
  http://techshelf.com
  http://techshelf.com/2010/02/15/iphone-developers-dave-mark-jeff-lamarche-interview/
  .
• Access Anesthesiology Blog Site for McGraw-Hill
  http://www.mhprofessional.com/blogs/accessanesthesiology/
  .
• The MBWPicks Finder
  http://mbwpicks.com/finder

Our First iPhone App

Thicksole released it’s first iPhone app last month.  Not only is it a new platform for us, but it was very exciting to work with a client that moved fast and understood the importance of “shipping”.  It’s an app that is meant to support their market-leading textbook, BOONE & KURTZ CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS.  Simulating a deck of flashcards, the app lets students review key terms and definitions from the 18 chapters of the book.

You can take it for a test spin here.

Exciting times around here, plus we have a couple more apps in the works.

Oxford Bibliographies Online for OUP

We’re rolling out http://aboutobo.com this week!  It’s an information site for their forthcoming “Oxford Bibliographies Online”.  Based on the product site, we designed and produced the entire site in only a few weeks.  It’s even built using Wordpress as a CMS which will make it easy for the publisher to update and edit.

Here’s a snapshot:

Jeffrey Krames: Publishing powerhouse, and Thicksole client.

Jeffrey Krames is a bit of a legend in the book business and we were happy he came to us to build (and maintain) his website.  What started out as a quest to put together a simple blog, the site evolved over time to not only be a landing zone for his publishing efforts, but also a core of his new publishing venture!

He blogs three days a week without fail and his audience has grown exponentially.  If you’ve ever looked for an “inside baseball” type of perspective into the world of book publishing, look no further.  Your first and final stop can be http://jeffreykrames.com.

If you stop by, tell him Paul @ Thicksole sent you.

New site: Bob Wysocki’s Effective Project Management

We put together a nice, clean Wordpress blog site for Bob Wysocki’s project management powerhouse: Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme.  From design and development to some remote coaching, we took care of everything to get the site build and the author ready to blog.

You can check it out here: http://wysockiepm.com.

Audio Download Center for McGraw-Hill

We just shipped off the new “Audio Download Center” for McGraw-Hill.  It came out pretty nice and allows for students to buy audio downloads in DRM-free, MP3 format at a bargain price.  The CD version of the products are around $30 – $50 each, and these MP3’s are going for around $5-$6.  Pretty nice.

We also used the “Wimpy Button” to share some sample tracks.  Worked like a charm…  Check it out here.

Thicksole Launches Contemporary Business Weekly Updates

We’re happy to launch a new blog today for John Wiley & Sons!  The idea of this site is to provide stories from today’s headlines and show how they apply to the lessons and concepts in the bestselling text, CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS.

What a fantastic way to build a relationship with the professors that are using the text in class – helping them prepare!

If we could smash a bottle of champange on the homepage, we would!

Hello world. The inspirado.

There’s no easy way to start a new blog.  Sure, you should have an idea of the topic you’re going to cover, and maybe even a keystone piece in your back pocket.  It’s not even breaking the ice and putting up the “first post.”  Really, it’s knowing that you’ll have to do it everyday (or at least every week) in order to eventually find success. Are you ready for that kind of commitment?  Hell, am I?

I’m Paul and I’ve been working in the “tech” business since 2000:  building websites, advising individuals and business on everything from hardware & software choices, and helping the “technically challenged” get plugged in to the technology that is right for them.  Prior to that, I worked in the book publishing industry.  For 10 years.  Through the “dot com” boom.  After the bubble burst.  And during the emergence of “Web 2.0″.  One thing about publishing, though everything was changing at around it, it pretty much stayed the same.

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