Although there are still some outstanding issues I’ve decided none are critical before launch but I’ve tagged them all as post-launch priorities in Trello.
There are a couple of reasons for this sudden decision:
The current build is actually quite stable and I don’t want to risk a bunch of edge case bug fixes that might destabilize it.
Having v2 and v3 out at the same time is causing more work and now actually holding up work on v3.
The whole process of launching is burning a ton of brain cycles, also further slowing development.
Tracking and migrating changes across the old and new user databases is becoming an issue and I need to shutdown the old system asap.
It’s Monday here - Sunday night for most of the rest of the world and I’m going to need a few hours to move everything over. Seems a good time to do it.
Some notes:
Post launch the preview builds will continue to run - feel free to continue using them until they expire.
After launch the downloads for the preview builds will be taken down. Grab them now or email me if you need them for some reason.
The cantabilesoftware.com site will probably be down/broken for a couple of hours - hopefully less, possibly more.
You should receive an email with a license key for v3. Attached to this key will be a license for Cantabile Lite and 30-day trial for Solo and Performer.
If you purchased during the grace period you’ll automatically be issued the appropriate v3 license which will be attached to your license key.
The email will also have login details for the new user portal. If you don’t get the email let me know but you should be able to login by visiting the portal (link isn’t live yet) and using the forgot password link.
Post launch you should be able to purchase upgrades to v3 immediately should you feel so inclined. Note however the whole order processing system has been re-written so bear with me if you encounter issues.
Once launched I’ve got probably a day’s worth of admin/business related stuff to sort out. I’m also anticipating a bit of a spike in support emails. After that I’ll be attacking the post-launch priorities which I’ll probably put out as a series of quickly released experimental builds - the first hopefully within a couple of days of launch.
Finally, this is a “soft launch”. Although Cantabile 3 will now be publicly available I won’t be pushing it much until I’m sure all the processes are in place and working well. If you find anything unclear or confusing please let me know so I can fine tune it.
One very minor issue - loading Cantabile 3 v3114 today showed the little update widget icon at the top, but clicking on it led to a “Not Found” page. https://www.cantabilesoftware.com/v3 It says it is getting Version 3115.
Got the email, though! Very exciting! Congratulations, Brad! Love having my license already!
In case current users have missed it, there is a terrific page on the Canatile 3 features that can serve as the basis of a review you might write or be something to share with friends in other networks. Called the “Whirlwind Tour”, here it is:
Thanks everyone for you kind words and support - much appreciated.
All in all the launch has gone well. A long day, but no major issues since pulling the trigger.
Terry the url issue you mentioned I’ve fixed with a rewrite rule on the server. If that’s the biggest problem then I’ll be very happy (and somewhat surprised).
I’ve got a bunch of emails to answer now - if I’m slow to respond for the next day or so, please bear with me.
BTW folks - click on the link to the new portal in the email sent to you - it is a URL with a token that represents you already, so it asks you to enter the password you want to use and then brings you inside.
I bungled that at first copying and pasting the text of the link rather than just clicking it in the email, confusing myself and likely the server as well…
Clicking the link to the portal above in Brad’s announcement will likely cause similar confusion if you are already a customer. Just click on the one in your email that you received.
The server will be fine Sounds like you sorted it, but email me if there’s still a problem.
If you end up on the login page being prompted for a password before you’ve set one you can either:
Use the Cantabile User Portal command in Cantabile’s Help menu - it’ll create a new login token and take you straight to the portal - just like the link in the original email. This only works though before you’ve set a password. After that, it’ll take you to the login page.
Use the Forgot Password link to reset it.
Thanks for the feedback though - these comments help to streamline/simplify/better explain the flow.
Congratulations on a great launch of a great product!
One minor quibble with the user portal: the e-mail address is case-sensitive, which threw me for a loop for a few minutes. (It kept telling me that my e-mail address and/or password was invalid.)
Once I got past that, I was happy to upgrade to the full Performer edition.
Congratulations Brad, this is a truly remarkable achievement! This is an outstanding piece of software which has obviously taken a great deal of skill to produce!
Me too, running my shiny new Performer v3 as we speak!! The download / registration / purchase / upgrade process was totally seamless. Stunning stuff!!
A proud licensee of C3 now. A special thanks to everyone who helped on this. Many of us live far apart but were allowed to share in the development of version 3 using Trello and the newer Cantabile community web site and I found it a very satisfying experience. Some true progress was made in making this software the most unique and powerful tool for making live music. Thank you Brad and everyone for making this happen!
I can’t overstate how important the input and feedback from everyone who’s been involved with the preview builds has been. Without doubt Cantabile is so much better for it - so thanks to all.
A quick follow up on the launch itself.
All in all the launch went about exactly as I expected - most people got their licenses and installed/activated without issue. Not without exception though and I spent a long day yesterday answering support emails and making a few changes to the admin side of the website so I could resolve some of those.
Luckily everything could be resolved server side and there was only one small in-app bug related to licensing and editions - the missing recent file menus.
This morning there are no more licensing issues so today I’ll be focusing on Cantabile itself - nailing a few bugs that have cropped up and getting a slightly more stable build out asap.
In retrospect the only thing I regret is the transport sync options - this was too big a change right before launch and I should have left it out. Never mind.
Sounds like you sorted it, but email me if there’s still a problem.
