22-January-2010 Lots going on
I continue to be busy with the development for version 2.0 of my garage manager. There are lots of new features going into this version, including a full tax disc history. For the first time in my software carear I have been asked to have cost information in "UK old money" (£sd). This has been done, so you will be able to enter any reayy old history in pre-decimal costs. A new "country file" will be created for each country, which specifies the rules for tax , mot etc, and onc you set you vehicles taxation class and emissions, it will automatically work out your tax band.For a full list of what's coming up, have a look at the "what's in development" section on the my Garage forum .
01-Nov-2009 Version 1.9 released
i am pleased to announce that version 1.9 of My Garage Manager has now been released. For full details see the download page.
10-Sep-2009 As seen in Classic Car Weekly
My Garagae Manager was featured in the product reviews of Classic Car Weekly. Issue 992 on Thursday sept 10. See page 10 !
06-Sep-2009 Coventry Festival of Motoring
The Coventry Festival of motoring takes place every year, and sees over 500 cars line up in the main park, and then set off on a 65 mile run around Warwickshire. The route is driven clockwise by some, and anit clock by others, so at the half way point you see loads of classics heading towards you. They even managed to arrange a lap of the MIRA track. All the cars arrive back at the park in the afternoon. It is a fantastic event where you actually see them all driving around. We took part for the first time this year, now that the children are a little older.
15-Aug-2009 TSSC Stafford
Did anyone go along to the Triumph Sports Six club weekend at Stafford in August. The saturday saw the main hall filled with Triumph Heralds to celebrate the 50th anniversairy of the model. My car featured in the main display representing the last of the line 13/60 estate.
23-Jul-2009 Herald MOT time
It's that time of year again, and the MyGarage pop-up box reminded me to get the mot done on the Herald. With 10 days to go it was booked in, but failed on worn trunions, and a sticky brake caliper. Oh well, something to keep me busy. I have done the trunions, but the brake caliper needs finishing - I ordered a caliper overhauil kit, but it contained the wrong rubbers, so I need to get it swapped as soon as possible. The car table is now showing the Herald in red, so I can't drive it anymore.
I have been working on the next version of "My Garage Manager". The big addition is the ability to record previous owners of each vehicle. Also lots more improvements and tidying up, including marker points on the trends that you can click on to see where the data come from, and a new date control. I still have lots to do before this version will be released.
Currently getting ready for the Triumph Sports Six Club event at Stafford in August. My Herald is booked in to the main display as a late 13/60 estate. Be sure to say hello if you are there.
1-Jun-2009 Version 1.8.1 released
The latest version of MyGarage has just been released, along with a new look to the website. The screens page has been updated as "Product Information", and includes many more updated screen pictures. 2 major new features in the latest version - the "estimated fuel in the tank", and expenditure between dates.I have been working on MyGarage for nearly 2 years now, so you can imagine how much time has been put in to it, not to mention the investment in development tools. The new website includes a link to paypal donations. If you are getting a benefit from the software then please consider making a donation.
30-May-2009 Back from Holiday
I have just got back from a weeks holiday in Yorkshore (between York and the coast) - great weather. Saw a few classics on my travels...- Just out side Selby there is a Reliant specialist with a row of Robin's / Rialto's on the forecourt. I have never seen so many of these in one place. (We used to own a Rialto - the first car I did a gearbox swap on !)
- The drive from our holiday to the coast took us past "Classics for hire" - with a vast array of classics out the front.
- In the car park at the North York Moors railway was a rather nice Mk2 Jag.
17-May-2009 What's in your tank?
A couple of weeks ago I was taking my BMW to the garage for it's mot, and looking at the fuel guage. The level was low, but the light was not yet on . It got me thinking - how much fuel is really left. If you know how much fuel the tank will hold, and when it was last fuel, and how many miles you have driven since, and the average mpg, then you can make a fairly good estimate on how much is left..... so I did :
There is now a box to enter the fuel tank capacity, and a tick box on a fuel purchase to mark as full. It will then make the calculation based on the current mileage and mpg figures to give an estimate of what is left in the tank, and how far it will get you.
This will be available in version 1.8.1, available early June.
The BMW Failed it's mot on a tyre, and brake pipes ! All sorted now of course.
30-Apr-2008 Version 1.8 Released
The long awaited version 1.8 is now ready to download. The intention for this release was to improve the pictures / gallery area, which has been achieved, with the ability to sequence and bulk upload, and filter galleries. As I sold my Dolomite earlier this year, I pushed the development of the "Export / Import" feature to the top of the list. This enables you to export the full history to a file, and pass it to the new keeper, so they can import it into their own copy of MyGarage. (See help file for full details). Lots of other smaller changes done, plus a complete re-work of the screen updating after editing data, so it should all run better than before.
Time for a quick rest and get on with some car work before looking at the next developments on MyGarage... Driver information, including an all important reminder that your driving license will expire within 10 years !
23-Apr-2008 Update...
Version 1.8 is on Beta release. Got some interesting changes including the export / import feature, and loads of gallery changes. This should be on general release in the next couple of weeks.
The Dolomite sold at the end of Feb. Although the BMW gets me to work quicker, I am missing the Dolomite. At least I don't have to worry about the rust anymore so can concentrate on the Herald. This needs just a little work on in prep for the TSSC Stafford event in August, where it is booked in to form part of the main display (Late Herald estate).
Last weekend I spent saturday widening the drive. The BMW is wider than the Dolomite, and the children are not so careful opening the doors. The drive is now 2 feet wider, so my 7 year old suggested I could get another car to park there !
06-Feb-2008 Export / Import
The last few weeks I have been working on the export / import code - now basically working, so if you are planning to sell a car and want to pass the history over then feel free to ask for a test version of this - I still need to tidy it all up.
As well as this I had the Dolomite out of winter storage for a week for a Practical Classics photo shoot - see April's edition !
I was also working on an internet forum for mygarage (see http://forum.mygarage.org.uk for details) - still in early stages it will either sink or swim !
And if this isn't keeping me busy enough I bought enough scalextric track from ebay to fill the lounge (supposed to be for the kids !!) and I am playing the drums once a week in preparation for a gig at work.
Still at least I did not get stuck in the snow - I think Coventry keeps getting the edges of the snow, so no more than 2", and I am pleased to say the children's school remained open !
23-Jan-2008 Interesting day out
Can't say too much yet, but yesterday I had an interesting day out with the Dolomite doing a photo shoot for a major magazine !
08-January-2009 Version 1.7 Release
I am pleased to announce version 1.7 of "MyGarage" is now available for download.
07-December-2008 - Time for a change
It must be the cold weather. Windscreen that takes ages to claer. Car stalling at every junction unless I keep the foot on the gas. More rust spots coming through and the feeling of "I havn't done the Waxoyl yet this year". I finally came to the conclusion to change my daily driver. With having two classics, neither is getting the time and attention it deserves. The Dolomite, although a great car is sitting outside freezing over every night and being taken out every day. I have finally decided the time has come to sell the car so it does not deterioate any further, and therefore concentrate on getting improvements done to the Herald.
So, my 1975 Triumph Dolomite 1850 is currently up for sale. This car has a really interesting history, being an ex Britich Leyland development car, that spent 20 years of it's live parked in a garage. Although there is suface rust in places, there is no rot. It has never been welded, and has made a great daily driver for the last 3 and a half years. Of course it comes with a "MyGarage" history file !! If you are interested then drop me an email.
Oh, and the replacement daily driver : a 1998 BMW 318iSE !
