Shion project updates

It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update on Shion and I wanted to send out a few tidbits to let everyone know what’s going on.

1. Shion going on sale: The Shion codebase is sufficiently mature at this point that I’m ready to put version 2.0 on sale. The major blocker at the moment is that I’m working with a designer to overhaul the website before making a big public push. The website should be online by the end of the month.

2. Beta testing: I have a private build of Shion that includes a number of bug fixes. However, since the code also includes the licensing system, I am not pushing it out via automatic updates as I don’t want existing users to discover that they’ve hit the 3 device limit for the free version. If you’re interested in helping me test the new code, please send an e-mail to shion@audacious-software.com and I’ll pass on a link to the private build and a license file for helping me test the software. (This license file will work on paid versions as well, thus this is a free full license.)

3. Other work: In addition to fixing bugs in the software itself, I’ve also begun to implement the online service component of the software that I’ll launch later this year as “Shion Online”. I know that a few beta testers are interested in creating code that interoperates with Shion on a network level and I’ll be sending out e-mails recruiting testers later this summer.

4. Also during the summer, I’m looking into creating a handful of applications that work with Shion to accomplish something useful. I don’t want to share too much yet, but one’s working title is “Electric Meter”. 😉

5. If any of you are using the PowerLinc 1132 serial port PLC for INSTEON, please send me an e-mail. I’m looking to recruit testers that can help me put Shion and this component through the paces.

Again, thanks for your patience with this project. I’ve been learning the hard way that it takes a bit longer to launch a project than I originally expected. However, things are coming together better than I would have ever expected, so I think that the wait will be worth it.