TaskMaster continues to be supported and developed on an "as required" basis.

However, it is unlikely that further work will be carried out on Spex without a specific commission (or sponsorship), to carry it through to completion.

Work has started (slowly) on a new, "bare-boned" equipment management system, fully configurable by the user (as far as possible), and making best use of new and emerging technologies, with links to the web, etc.

Perhaps there will be time also to develop tools to support that other moving target, the paperless maintenance management system, especially considering the exciting recent advances in mobile technology.

The workshops and site offices of the 21st century will have their database systems linked to the world. All the information available on the internet will be accessible, whether on demand, or seamlessly integrated into the system at your finger-tips. Literally, your window on the world, wherever you are in it.

An exciting prospect perhaps, but it needs to be tempered by technical realities! Many users continue to toil away in parts of the world where solid internet connections cannot always be assumed (and certainly not guaranteed). So our philosophy remains to devise and support practical software programs that are primarily standalone database systems, with links to the internet for communication and information gathering as and when required. This way users can carry on working even when the internet is "down" for whatever reason.

That is, we support "web-linked" rather than "web-based"!