Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Dolphin 7 Final Released

Yes, Dolphin 7 final is available to download.

Should you install it on your live site and rush to be one of the first with all those cool new community features?

I wanted to make my thoughts clear with regard to using Dolphin 7 on a live site.

The first 'final' revision of any software will still have bugs.

Just because Boonex says its the final release does not mean there wont be problems with it. As with all of their previous Dolphin versions, it took a few months to really get their final version working perfectly. By then there were several patches available.

I am sure the same will be true of Dolphin 7 - there will be bugs and depending on the level of customization in the areas where Boonex releases a patch, it could increase the time to upgrade to the various patches.

Starting with D7 is both a good and bad idea - there may be some features of D7 that have a bug. You can disable that feature until a patch is made available.

But.. that means you go live without a feature or with a feature that may or may not cause a problem.

Some webmasters would argue the point to go with the proven version (6.16) on a live site and wait for at least the first major upgrade (Dolphin v7.1) before using it on a live site.

The call is completely yours, and you will get both sides of the argument where ever you turn.

If your site will have many many customizations, it might be worthwhile to go with Dolphin 7 and just release features that are proven bug-free. Building your site functions (and user tools) slower than we could with version 6.16

Starting with D6 and thinking that the developer can simply port those features to D7 is not entirely the case. We will of course build with the awareness of going to D7 within the code, but there will be additional hours of development to recreate the integration of custom code with the Dolphin 7 system.

There are pros and cons to both options.

The version to start with is entirely up to you. Developers are simply here to lay out the options, explain the pros and cons and take your direction.

If you'd like to discuss your upgrade to Dolphin 7 or start your own membership site using the leading community site builder - feel free to check out www.thedanielsolution.com A leading Community Site Builder on the Dolphin platform

Friday, November 6, 2009

Upgrade to Dolphin 7


We are so close to the release of Dolphin 7,  I am dancing in the halls.

If you haven't started planning for your upgrade... what are you waiting for?

Upgrading from Dolphin 6.1 to Dolphin 7 (from our tests) is relatively simple and is a highly recommended upgrade.

You have customized and paid for so many modifications to your current dolphin install and are concerned you will lose all that work. I don't blame you, it's a legitimate concern.

Most (if not all) of your custom features can be transferred when you upgrade to dolphin 7 but you'll need to map out those changes and manually modify the dolphin 7 files.  This is a simple process for those of you who know PHP.

Before you start upgrading to dolphin from any previous version, we would be happy to go over your site with you. We are offering a free 1-hour consultation to help you decide if the upgrade is something that will benefit your members.

Contact us today: Before you upgrade to Dolphin 7.



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