June 26, 2008
Time Clock MTS Version 2.0.3 Released
Just a minor release today. For some reason the default settings for report section templates we not being set. This is now fixed.
Posted by mnemtsas at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
June 19, 2008
Time Clock MTS Version 2.0.2 Released
I've just released Version 2.0.2 which contains a number of fixes to problems introduced by the last release plus adds one major new feature. Changes made include:
- A new security feature which allows you to use a camera attached to any Time Clock MTS computer to capture an image when users clock in or clock out. Administrators can then view the captured image associated with a clock in or out and verify that the correct person performed the action. This should allow you to stop buddy punching.
- A fix to the Version 2 database updates for SQL Server and MySQL that didn't work correctly.
- Fix to the last action display text to allow non English characters to be displayed.
Posted by mnemtsas at 6:57 AM | Comments (0)
June 10, 2008
Time Clock MTS Version 2.0.1 Released
Well Version 2.0.1 is out. I wont talk about it too much here right now. You can read about it on the Official Time Clock MTS Version 2 Release Page or take a look at the Release Notes. Over the course of the next week or so I'll cover one of the features of the new release in detail here each day, hopefully along with some explanatory screen shots.
A Note to Existing Time Clock MTS Users
If you're an existing Time Clock MTS user the software will not update itself to Version 2. Because a new registration key is required and not everyone is eligible for a free registration key I decided to make it a manual process. If you want to upgrade to Version 2 you'll need to download the admin program update installer and the client program update installer. Once you've downloaded these just run them on your installations of Time Clock MTS and it will update to Version 2.
Getting Version 2 Registration Keys
You can retrieve your own registration key for Version 2 of the software. You'll need to know your Version 1 registration key to get it. Don't worry too much if you cant pull your own registration key from our website, the database has a couple of holes in it that I am trying to fix up. Just send me an email with your current license details and if you're eligible I'll send you your Version 2 registration key ASAP.
Posted by mnemtsas at 7:55 PM | Comments (0)
Time Clock MTS Version 1.7.4 Released
Time Clock MTS Version 1.7.4 has been released. It has been released in update form only rather than as a full install. This is the last release of version 1 of Time Clock MTS. The only change to the software is a message informing users that it is the last release of Version 1 of the software and to upgrade to Version 2 you'll need to visit our website.
Posted by mnemtsas at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
June 8, 2008
Time Clock MTS Version 2 Release Imminent
In the next few days I'll be releasing the first build of Time Clock MTS Version 2. This will contain a number of new features to make the software a lot easier to use. It will also contain a major re-vamp of the reporting area to allow you to configure all reports to suit your exact requirements. The second build of Version 2 will contain a powerful new security feature to help eliminate buddy punching. The third build will add the ability for Time Clock MTS to operate over the web, so soon you'll be able to collect data anywhere with an internet connection and process it centrally in your head office! Stay tuned for these new releases in the upcoming weeks.
On an administrative and commercial note Version 1 license keys will not function with Time Clock MTS Version 2. However, anyone who has purchased the software within 12 months of June 1 2008 or has purchased an update to their support contract will be eligible for a free upgrade. Users who do not have a valid support contract or purchased outside of this time period will be eligible for a 50% discount on purchasing Time Clock MTS Version 2 licenses. I've tried to make this upgrade process as painless as possible but of course there will be hiccups and I apologize in advance for this. You can already see if you're eligible for a free upgrade by taking a look at the Get Time Clock MTS Version 2 License Key Page. Just paste your Time Clock MTS license key into the text box on this page and click the button and you'll be told all you need to know. By the way don't try to use the Version 2 license key in Version 1 of the software, it wont work!
Posted by mnemtsas at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2008
Time Clock MTS Version 1.7.3 Released
Time Clock MTS Version 1.7.3 has been released containing a number of fixes to the recent problems we've been seeing with synching the internal clock with internet time servers.
- The Maryland NIST time servers have stopped supporting the older TIME protocol, and this was the cause of the recent problems Time Clock MTS had with syncing with these servers. We've changed the protocol used for these servers to the NIST format.
- Time between queries to NTP Servers has changed to 30 minutes to stop flooding the servers.
- Query time out has reduced to 10 seconds rather than the previous 1 minute, to stop the software locking up on startup for a minute.
- Internet Time Syncing is now turned off by default to prevent this sort of problem for people who are just trialing the software.
Posted by mnemtsas at 9:15 PM | Comments (0)
May 22, 2008
Problems with Maryland NTP Servers
We have been seeing problems with time synching to the Maryland NTP time servers in the last few days. If you're seeing problems with this then please select any of the three time servers in Colorado. You can choose the time servers on the Tools->Options->Security page.
Posted by mnemtsas at 12:01 AM | Comments (0)
May 20, 2008
Time Clock MTS Version 1.7.2 Released
A couple of bugs fixed and some new features added today.
- A setting has been added to allow Time Clock MTS to check for a newer version on software startup. This setting is off by default but can be turned on via the Tools->Options->Interface Settings page. Note that you'll still need to update the software via the Tools->Check for Updates menu.
- When manually checking for updates and an update is available you'll now be able to view the release notes for the new version. In fact you'll be able to view the release notes for every version between the one you are currently running and the latest that is available from us.
- When Excel is not installed and you try to export a report to Excel the software explains that you need Excel to be installed. Formerly it gave a less than explanatory error message.
- Fix to both vacation accruals and sick time accruals. When the delay for an employee to start accruing set to accrue into the future the software calculated accrued sick time / vacation time incorrectly. This is now fixed.
Posted by mnemtsas at 6:05 PM | Comments (0)
May 19, 2008
Time Clock MTS Newsletter Launched
I've been resisting it for a while, but the time has come to launch a Time Clock MTS Newsletter. Hopefully this will be informative and interesting, as well as providing a more direct line of communication from myself to you, the Time Clock MTS user. I dont expect to release more than 10-15 newsletters a year, and as well as tips, tricks, news of new releases, and notification of new weblog posts there will also be exclusive upgrade offers for newsletter subscribers.
Emails have been sent out the to several thousand existing Time Clock MTS users inviting them aboard. Any new Time Clock MTS users will be invited to subscribe to the newsletter when they purchase the software. I'd also like to invite prospective Time Clock MTS users to subscribe. It's awfully easy to subscribe to the Time Clock MTS Newsletter so why dont you go ahead and do so?
Posted by mnemtsas at 8:14 AM | Comments (0)
May 15, 2008
Time Clock MTS Version 1.7.1 Released
Three new features added to the version released today.
- A new setting has been added to allow all reports to display time activity in hours:minutes:seconds format as well as the old decimal hours format. You can turn this new method of report output on via the Tools->Options->Display Settings->Display Times As screen.
- A new setting has been added to vacation and sick time accruals. This new setting allows you to use the anniversary of an employee's hire date to reset the vacation or sick time accrual instead of the fiscal year. You can turn this new method of accrual calculation on via the Tools->Options->Sick Time/Vacation Accrual->Use Hire Date not Fiscal Year page.
- A check has been put in place to prevent a second instance of either the Administrator or Client software from running on the same computer.
Posted by mnemtsas at 10:48 AM | Comments (0)
May 5, 2008
Time Clock MTS Version 1.7.0 Released
A new version was released today containing three bug fixes.
- The new NTP time code had a small bug in it where in some instances the time queried from the NTP server was not read properly and the old time was used instead leading to timing errors.
- Another fix was put in for the Error 6 : Overflow that some people had seen when their systems were running for a very long time. I suspect this is a limitation with a timer in MS Windows that takes effect after your system has been running for more than 47 days.
- Time Clock MTS determines your currency symbol ($ for example) and decimal symbol (. or ,) from some internal MS Windows settings. In some cases (for some reasons I've not been able to determine) these settings are not able to be read. This caused an error when saving Time Clock MTS settings. This has now been fixed up.
Posted by mnemtsas at 11:47 AM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2008
Microsoft Access Database Password Support
Version 1.6.2 of
Users finding and manipulating the back end database of Time Clock MTS has always been a problem. Time Clock MTS has always included a series of internal checks to try to detect this sort of manipulation, but of course no system is perfect. By including support for Access database passwords we have added one additional layer of security to ensure that your time and attendance information is accurate. Using a database password with a Microsoft Access database encrypts the data it contains and prevents non authorized access to the database when someone tries to open it with MS Access.
To setup Time Clock MTS to work with an Access database that is password protected follow these simple steps:
- Password protect your Access database using MS Access. How this is done depends largely on the version of MS Access that you have. Consult your MS Access help documentation for detailed instructions.
- Run the Time Clock MTS administrator program, the software will detect that the database back end is password protected and prompt you to enter the password.
- Once entered click OK and re-start the software as prompted. If you entered the information correctly then you'll connect directly to the database. If you didn't enter the password correctly you'll be prompted to enter it again.
- You'll need to repeat the password entry process for every client installation you have.
That's all there is to it. If you're wondering, the MS Access database password you enter into Time Clock MTS is stored locally on each computer (which is why you need to enter the password for every Time Clock MTS Client you have). The password itself is stored in an encrypted format for extra security.
Posted by mnemtsas at 11:58 AM | Comments (0)
February 28, 2008
Time Clock MTS Version 1.6.0 Released
Version 1.6.0 was released today, it contained the two most commonly asked for features. These are time synchronization with Internet Time Servers (or NTP Servers), and allowing administrators to edit employee times when employees are currently clocked in.
Internet Time Synchronization
There is no doubt that certain employees, if given the opportunity, will try to provide mis-leading time and attendance information. With some computer based time clock systems, simply changing the system clock on the computer was enough to allow fraudulent data to be collected. Time Clock MTS has had a number of measures to get around this, and with the advent of in-built Internet Time Synchronization the last loophole has been closed. Put simply, Time Clock MTS can periodically contact a computer server on the Internet and get a very accurate time from which to derive punch times for data collected. Given that you have an Internet connection on your Time Clock MTS workstations we would strongly advise enabling this feature.
If you want more information on what an Internet Time Server is try taking a look at Wikipedia's entry on Network Time Protocols and Clock Synchronization
Editing Times while Employees are Clocked In
Time Clock MTS now provides complete flexibility and allows you to edit any employees times while they are clocked in. Previously this was not allowed to prevent the Time Clock MTS data from becoming unusable. However, Time Clock MTS now provides you with the tools to make sure the data remains usable. You can now delete a single time (rather than a pair) and change a clock in to a clock out, or a clock out to a clock in. The benefit of all this is that you can now enter forward times (eg. for vacation) while the employee is at work and you don't need to mess about with clocking them out first.
Posted by mnemtsas at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2008
Time Clock MTS Weblog Launched
I've been thinking for a while about launching a weblog. The reasons for doing so are primarily to provide you with a more direct line of communications with the people behind Time Clock MTS. There's several things that I hope to be able to include in the (hopefully) weekly entries in the weblog.
- Some brief news updates about what's going on with Timesheets MTS Software in general and Time Clock MTS in particular.
- Extended release notes about new releases of Time Clock MTS.
- Solutions to common questions that we are asked.
- Tips and tricks to using the software to make your job easier.
That's probably enough for a first entry, please feel free to comment let me know what you'd like to see here.
Posted by mnemtsas at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)