Saturday, March 10, 2012

As many of you know - I am a change event type of guy, and love to jump on that next new thing that I think will help us make things simpler if only we consider the change.

This requires that I fully understand the problem and come up with solution examples and build solid, believable presentations that help prove my case.

I am always looking out to watch professionals presenting. I am always taking notes, trying to learn something from them.

Now - mind you - I am not one of these nut jobs who think the world is going to end this year in December, but when I saw this article today entitled;

"NASA scientist debunks Mayan 2012 apocalypse claims"

I decided "hey, this might be interesting to watch this someone explain away why the world will not be ending in December" - so I watched it.



In the video posted online on Wednesday, Don Yeomans, head of the Near-Earth Objects Program Office of NASA/JPL, [attempts to] debunk[s] many of the doomsday theories making the rounds among Mayan apocalypse enthusiasts.

Here is a link to that article;

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/320956

The problem is, he is showing an Aztec Sun Stone, also called the Aztec Calendar Stone



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_calendar

* sigh *

It is such a pity - but that kind of destroys his credibility

40 lashes to the folks who did not research the image and stuck it into the video !



Wednesday, March 07, 2012



Please Ponder this PressWise PDF Presentation

Sunday, March 04, 2012

Someone recently asked me "What is this PressWise API you keep talking about, what does it do?"

I will spend the next few posts explaining what an API is, and why - if you are a print service provider - that you might care and how PressWise customers and third party storefront developers take advantage of it.

So, what does an API 'look like" ? A simple and commonly used example of an API in action is a website that allows users to review local restaurants is able to layer their reviews over maps taken from Google Maps, because Google Maps has an API that facilitates this functionality. Google Maps' API controls what information a third-party site can use and how they can use it.

At SmartSoft ( that is where I work ) we offer an API that enables third parties to access to a PressWise system to inject orders.

PressWise is a browser based workflow system that print services providers use to manage and process their customers jobs. PressWise is a hosted services and was designed as an alternative to purchasing independent modules - or custom development - of web-to-print, production workflow management. Print-specific MIS and mail preparation software.

Here is an example of how the PressWise API "works".

When someone orders print using an online storefront, lets say, to order business cards, like one might do at VistaPrint.com or Mimeo.com - they select the products, ad their custom details, decide how many they need or what type of paper they want to use. They may even add finishing tasks like Coatings or corner rounding. They will them be prompted to enter a method of payment and the address they want the order shipped.

All that data would need to then be transmitted somehow to the PressWise system, and the method ( or protocol) our PressWise API uses is SOAP.
The API then captures the XML stream, process it and enters that as a new order within our PressWise customers system.


My next few posts will go into more detail and show simple examples.

We will be demonstrating our API with Pressero at the upcoming Dscoop event