Articles tagged with ‘facebook’
We’ve made it, PamFax3 is alive and kicking!
This time it was much longer than we had even dreamt of, but this was caused by a few server settings which our hosting partner fixed.
Thanks for hanging in during the upgrade process. I know some of you had a hard time when PamFax was offline.
Let me explain a bit why this update was so important and complex.
It all started last week when our hoster updated our server park to a full load balanced cluster. This was needed to cope with the increase in traffic we have had the past year. PamFax3 is much more efficient when it comes to scaling up so we decided now is a good time to put new hardware in as we need to do the upgrade anyway.
Then after the upgrade there were settings to be checked, etc. This took time. Then on Monday late afternoon (European time), we took PamFax offline. The team started to convert the databases and migrate users data to the new system. This is a huge amount of data so it took time. We unfortunately had to take PamFax offline to do this.
We did the databse conversion with the help of Amazon EC2 cloud servers, we had up to 15 running at a time!
After this we upgraded the core systems. These being the various modules PamFax consists of. PamFax3 is a complete new development and not a mere upgrade as the version number might imply.
Based on our experience and close monitoring of the PamFax2 system, we started designing PamFax3 back in summer last year. We wanted to have a very modular and scalable system which is able to process a lot of data and grow with us. We designed the system from scratch with these and other requirements in mind.
So, after the usual birth pains we’re now up and running. Thank you for hanging in during the upgrade process, I know it was not easy for some of you. I still hope you will forgive us this time as we do not do updates regularly (last one was PamFax2 in April 2009). We designed PamFax3 in such a way that we do not anticipate having to take the system down anymore!
You may now ask, what does PamFax3 offer? Well, first of all blazing fast fax delivery. In addition we redid the PamFax Portal design to be easier to use. There is also a new login/sign up screen. You can now login with your OpenID, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail and a bunch of other accounts. In addition many small improvements and features were added. The PamFax BCP was renamed to “My Company” to make the company group faxing capability a bit clearer.
Last but not least, in June/July we will also be adding a new client application of PamFax for Android.
For partners we now have the PamFax API, this allows you to fully embed the PamFax functionality easily and quickly into your application or device. We already have a few project going and plan to announce them soon. If you are interested to join, let us know. The same faxing cost model applies to the API as when using PamFax – however no additional charges are made when using the API.
We are very excited to have PamFax3 and hope you will enjoy our efforts. We’re back now with a very powerful platform and based on it we have many plans and ideas for new stuff. Stay tuned!
Written by Dick on 18. May 2010 in category PamFax
We have just updated PamFax in the backend to version 2.0.14 tonight.
This update includes the following changes:
- Improved performance
- Fixed file upload for multiple files
- Added dashboard page in portal
- Improved website
- Optimized transmission reports
- Added “only send notification if an error occurs” setting to notification options
- Fixed relogin issue after sending a fax from Portal
- Group notification checked by default if more then one recipient
- Startup hint “unsent faxes” shows count of faxes, not recipients
- Improved “set password” dialog on first start
- “sent” time is only shown when fax was sent, not while it’s processed
- Improved Facebook and Salesforce.com plugin. i.e. now also show faxes from inbox
Read more..
Written by Christoph on 3. October 2009 in category PamFax
Based on feedback and system logs we have compiled another PamFax update to address some issues found since the last update.
The new server build version is: .8 (In the PamFax application you will see the version as: 2.0.8.15). Note that we did release a new application version which fixes a scanner issue in Windows but we are not pushing the version to the existing customers. You can update easily by just downloading the installer package from www.pamfax.biz.
One major workflow change we made is that when you install PamFax for the first time you are asked to define a password for direct PamFax portal access. In the past we’ve learned that asking for then when users access the portal creates confusion so we added this to this release. This way PamFax users will always have a password to access the portal. Users that did not have a password will be asked for at next start of PamFax.
The changes we made today are:
Feature: A fax to multiple recipients can be canceled/deleted in the PamFax Portal
Feature: Define PamFax password on first start
Bugfix Mac: Skype language detection in PamFax Mac could hang PamFax
Bugfix Windows: When sending a document via “Send To”, via printer driver or Office toolbar the upload could fail
Bugfix: Added improved support for right to left languages on cover page
Bugfix: Minor IE8 issue fixed when cancelling/deleting faxes from the PamFax Portal
Bugfix: Upload button broken in IE7 and IE8 when clicking “back” on number entry page
Bugfix: In PamFax for Facebook clicking on “Send Fax” triggers “Launch Application” dialog instead of sending the fax
We also added the usual minor fixes and improvements. As we have more and more users submitting multiple recipient faxes we added a function to the portal which allows you to cancel these faxes at once. Till now you had to delete each individual number which could be a very tiresome task.
Written by Dick on 18. June 2009 in category PamConsult
Yesterday a joint Skype/PamFax promotion went live on the Facebook pages of Skype for Business.
Till November 30, 2008 you can get a coupon code that will add 5 free (zone1) fax pages to your PamFax account. For further details and how to get the code see the Facebook promotion page.
You can find the home page of Skype for Business on Facebook here. Everyone is free to join the group and invite others. Keep an eye on it for further promotions!
Written by Dick on 13. November 2008 in category PamFax
PamFax turns 1!
Last year, on the 8th of August 2007, we released PamFax to the public. The first faxes were sent only a few minutes after we released PamFax.
This has been an exciting year: So many faxes have been sent via PamFax, so many new users joined the PamFax user-group, we have added so many features (like integration in salesforce.com, facebook, …).
We are looking forward to many more successful years with many more happy customers and more successful faxes.
Thanks to all users for using PamFax as their faxing solution and stay tuned for more exciting news around PamFax in the future!
Written by Christoph on 8. August 2008 in category PamFax
We have just added some very interesting enhancements to PamFax: Integration of PamFax into Facebook and Salesforce.com.
In Facebook, you can now see your fax history with status of your latest faxes and even start a new fax very easy. If you want to see if a fax was delivered, it’s now only one click away:
In Salesforce.com, the integration goes much further: You not only have the fax history embedded in Salesforce, but you also have the ability to start a fax from any Contact, Account, User or Lead! So no more copy&paste to send a fax to one of your contacts, as PamFax starts with name and fax number prefilled and you only have to select what you want to fax and then send the fax.
And another integration is currently in development: A Windows Vista sidebar gadget. With this gadget, you have your latest faxes and fax status right on your desktop so you can check their status very easily. As with the other integraton tools, you can simply access your PamFax Portal or start a new fax with a single click. This will be available shortly.
Enjoy this new faxing comfort and please let us know what you think.
Written by Christoph on 29. June 2008 in category PamFax
We released a new server update and this time also an update for the local PamFax Extra application (available in Skype under Tools, Do More).
The highlights of the update are:
- Redesigned first page in PamFax application for easier start.
- Resend fax option added to portal. This is nice as it allows you to resend failed faxes easily.
- Added more conversion server power.
- If a document can not be converted to PDF due to issues in the document, there is now a gracious refund process.
- Fixed a Vista UAC issue when Skype is started by PamFax after installing PamFax.
Besides the above we also did the normal set of minor bug fixing and improvements here and there.
Some screenshots:
Your PamFax application will be auto-updated once Skype have released the new version to the Skype Extras Gallery.
Very soon we will be posting about another cool new function we will be adding. This time it will be about integration of PamFax in Facebook, Salesforce.com and in the Vista SideBar. Stay tuned!
Written by Dick on 3. June 2008 in category PamFax
We have reached the 35.000 user mark. This means our growth is strong and the user base in growing proportionally. The number of new users per day is increasing too. When we started back in August 2007 we had about 30 new customers per day and now we are coming close to 300!
We see the user base growing as well as the number of processed fax jobs/sent pages.
We are constantly monitoring the system and customer feedback and apply the learnings to new releases. We have done a lot to provide better and clearer feedback to PamFax users regarding error situations and how to resolve them. This results in higher success rates and a better customer experience. To be able to provide easier feedback, we have started a poll section of the forum where you are able to easily provide feedback to some thoughts we have. Help us improve PamFax here.
Another topic for us is integration. We think that PamFax users will want to have access to PamFax from other applications as well. So currently development is working on integrating PamFax in Facebook, Salesforce.com and in the Vista Sidebar. The integration will focus on providing information currently available in the Portal in other platforms. This will enable a PamFax user to have an overview of his fax account from multiple locations. Stay tuned for more information.
Written by Dick on 29. May 2008 in category PamFax
