Collectorz.com Connect Sneak Preview Page

Invitation in Collectorz.com newsletter

There is some very important and exciting news I want to share with you.

Important, because it's about the biggest project in Collectorz.com history.

Exciting, because it's the kind of project that looks good on paper, but the full potential of the thing doesn't really come to life until after you actually start building it. Kind of like the Internet... great idea in the 70's when a handful of tech junkies sat around doing experiments, but who could have guessed that it would turn out like this??

That's the way this project has been. We got into it and the ideas started flowing like mad.

We've had countless brainstorm sessions here at the office... Robbert and his crack-shot development team showing the current state of the project, the rest of us commenting, asking questions and suggesting changes and additions. And yes, we've had several "back to the drawing board" moments too.

It has been incredible. The ideas keep popping up like a kettle full of hot popcorn, so a couple of weeks ago I had to tell the team: "Guys, what you have right now, today, will already blow 'em away. So, let's wrap this up and start working towards a polished 1.0 release. And *then* move on to make an even better, cooler and feature-rich 1.1, 1.2., and beyond.

I bet that if I hadn't put my foot down, we'd still be sitting around sipping coffee and gushing out new ideas. Version 1.0 would be years in development. Sure, we'd have lots of fun, but it's not likely the product would ever see the light of day :-)

So we just had to get it out the door... Plus, I simply can't wait to hear what you guys think of it!

I am so excited about this that I don't know where to start! There's so much to tell, so many cool things I want to show you. In fact, I actually sat down a few days ago and wrote a super long Connect newsletter telling you every little detail, but it ended up being an endless blurb of incoherent ravings :-) (yes, even worse than this one). So I scrapped it all.

Instead, I'll just explain briefly what it is.

First, let's start with the name... drumroll, if you please...

* Collectorz.com Connect *

It is BIG. But, like I said, today, I've only got time and space to give you an overview... something to wet your appetite. If you want the full- meal deal and all the juicy entrees and appetizers that go with it, you'll have to join the "Connect Preview Club".

Club Members will get weekly updates, screenshots, and dozens of other cool factoids on what is going on behind the scenes. In other words, you'll get the deluxe treatment. And, as always, as a Preview Club Member, you'll get a front-row Joe spot at the official launch of Connect... ... which means you'll be among the first to give it a try.

So, what exactly is Collectorz.com Connect?

Connect is our new online service for cataloging and sharing collections.

Highlights:

* Movies, Music, Books, Comics and Games: There will be five different Connect editions: Movie Collector Connect, Music Collector Connect, Book Collector Connect, Comic Collector Connect and Game Collector Connect.

* Fully web-based applications. No downloads or installs necessary.

* Access from any computer (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc...). Just go to the Connect website and log in to your account to manage your collection.

* Access from mobile devices: Browse your collection from any mobile device that connects to the internet.

* Data stored online: all data and images are stored on the Collectorz.com servers and automatically backed up on a daily basis.

* Publish / Share your collection. Use the optional "Publish My Collection" feature to allow others to view your collection. Now just email the public URL to friends and family.

* Two-way synching to Win/Mac apps: Synchronize your collection back and forth between Connect and your Windows or Mac software.

* Subscription based: Connect will use a subscription based licensing model. Subscriptions will include all future upgrades.

In summary, Collectorz.com Connect will be two things:

1. A full cataloging solution for new users (as an alternative for our Windows and Mac edition)

2. An additional sharing / mobile-access service for existing Windows / Mac users. There will be a special account level (at a reduced price) for users who just want to use the sharing features.

And hey, maybe some of you will like it so much that you will say farewell to your trusted Windows or Mac software and stick to using the Connect online edition only.

If anything, Connect will be a perfect solution for Mac users collecting comics and video games.

Connect Club update 1:

It's Alwin, with more information about our upcoming online cataloging tool: Collectorz.com Connect.

In our May Newsletter I announced this new Connect service and I gave a quick overview of what it *is*. Today I would like to explain what Connect can actually do for you.

Here's a quick recap of what it is:

1. A way to share your collection and access it from mobile devices.
2. A full online cataloging tool for adding and editing collection entries.

** 1. Sharing / Mobile Acccess **

Let's start with 1: what will the sharing features of Connect do for you?

* Email your list to friends and family
Ever wanted to email a list of your collection to a friend? Yes, you can export to a text file and attach it, but that doesn't look very nice and includes no images. Printing to a PDF file is a way to include the images but that generates a huge file. Not practical (or even possible) to send by email.

What if you could just point your friend to a cool looking website showing your collection, by emailing just a web-link? Connect lets you do just that.

* Check your collection when not at home
Recognize this? You are at a friends house and he/she asks if you happen to own this or that movie on DVD. And you just couldn't remember? What if you could just go over to your friends PC or Mac and check your online database?

Or even worse: You are in a book store, looking at an interesting book, but you simply don't know if you already own it or not? Or maybe you even came home with a new book, only to find that you already owned it. Embarrassing isn't it? And costly too.

(I managed to buy a duplicate copy of "The Invasion" on Blu-Ray last week. Luckily they know me in that DVD store and they let me exchange it, no questions asked. So it wasn't costly this time, but it *was* embarrassing.)

What if you could verify whether you owned a particular item, right there in the store? Just whip out your phone or PDA and check.

Connect will help you in both of the above situations.

Of course, if you have your own web hosting account at your ISP and know how to upload HTML files and images using an FTP tool, then the above is already possible with the current "Export to HTML" feature. But even then, you end up with a set of static webpages, not searchable or even sortable.

With Connect, your friends can browse your collection, change the sorting and even search your database. And it looks better too :-)

** 2. Full Online Cataloging Tool **

But that's not all.
Connect also is a complete online cataloging tool, either in combination with your Windows or Mac program or as a full replacement.

* Manage your collection from anywhere, without having the software installed
Do you have multiple computers at home? Currently, if you want to be able to access your collection from anywhere, you need to have your software installed on all of them, either accessing a database on a shared network drive or by copying your data and images back and forth, taking care to make your edits on one computer only. A hassle to say the least.

What if you could just have your software installed on one computer, then use a simple webbrowser to view *and* modify your collection from other computers, either in your house or anywhere else. (e.g. sitting in a Starbucks, with a small laptop)

Connect will make this possible. Just Sync your data *to* Connect once and it will be available from anywhere. Then once in a while, sync online changes back *down* to your master database.

* Or: Move your database to Connect and never look back
Are you only using your Windows or Mac software to maintain a basic list of your collection, either for insurance purposes or to avoid duplicate purchases?
Then you may find that the Connect online edition will actually fulfill all your needs. It may even work better for you, because you will never need to download, install or upgrade software again. Just go to the Connect website with your browser and log in to your account.
We manage your software for you. You data and images will be safely stored on Collectorz.com server and backed up daily. Safe and easy.

Are you on Mac OS X and collecting comics or video games? Then Connect will finally give you a Mac-compatible cataloging solution.

Connect Club update 2:

As I said in yesterday's newsletter:
Only 3 weeks to go before the launch of Movie Collector Connect.

We have already covered what it *is* and what it can do for you.
(if you missed that information, you can still read it here:
http://www.collectorz.com/connect-preview.php#archive )

Today, I'd like to tell you more about how Connect works, some behind the scenes details. I'll try to keep it from being too technical :-)
On top of that, I am gonna explain the pricing structure.
A lot of ground to cover, so let's get started.

** So how does this Connect thing work? **

Let me explain the basics using Movie Collector Connect as an example.
The other Connect editions will work more or less the same way.

1. Connect is built completely around the Collectorz.com online media databases. Which means that if you add a DVD to your collection, it links your database entry to the DVD's entry in our online database, always getting the "shared" information (like Title, Year, Cast, Crew, Plot, DVD details, cover image, etc...) from our database.

The same happens when you upload an existing collection from Movie Collector: your entries will be linked to our online database (most entries will already be linked or can be auto-linked by barcode, or CDID for CDs).

2. Connect lets you add personal information to your entries, like Purchase info, Personal rating, notes, In Collection Status, etc..
For Movie Collector Connect, all personal fields are supported. It also lets you enter your own Title, to optionally "override" the title in the central database (e.g. for localized titles). The other 3 "override" fields for movies are Barcode, Year and Image (using a web-linked image).

3. If you own a movie that is not in our central database, you can still add it to your list (or upload it from Movie Collector), using the Title, Barcode, Year, User Image and all Personal Fields.
So you will still have a basic entry in your collection lists. The tip here is to include the barcode, so that our Content Team can spot popular "un-linked" barcodes and add them to the central database.
As soon as they do, your entry will automagically be transformed into a full entry with cast, crew, etc... We are planning to add a way to "suggest" or "submit" a movie right from the Connect interface, so that missing movies or DVD edition can be added quickly.

This setup has many advantages, both for you and for us:

1. Auto-Updates: When our Content guys update the movie information (e.g. add a plot, fix a typo in a character's name, etc...), you will immediately see those changes in your collection. No "Update Automatically" necessary, everyone always sees the latest and greatest version of the data.

2. It's FAST: The central shared movie data is the same for everyone, so its retrieval can be optimized. Robbert has implemented a smart caching algorithm that caches movie information in small super-fast files.
Once the details for a particular movie are in the cache, displaying the movies doesn't even *touch* the database :- )
This lets us display complete movie details in the list itself.
Check this Details screenshot to see what I mean:
http://images.collectorz.com/movie/connect/connect-view-detail.png

3. It's efficient: Shared data is only stored once. Thousands of Movie Collector users own Batman Begins, it's no use storing that movie's Cast and Crew thousands of times. This helps keeping performance up, disk usage down and enables us to guarantee the daily backups of your collection.

4. It helps to make our Collectorz.com online databases more complete. The "missing barcodes" system will help us improve and complete our online databases faster than ever.
Yes, our Content Team will have their hands full, but it'll show :-)

** Pricing structure **

Now, on to pricing. As explained before, Connect will be a subscription service with a monthly (or yearly) fee.

First, we have dropped the idea of the "Lite edition" (a cheaper subscription level having only the sharing features).

We want everyone to enjoy the advantages of managing and adding to your collection from anywhere, any computer. Because that is where the power and the fun of Connect is, especially combined with the two-way syncing between Connect and your Windows or Mac software.

Instead, we will give a huge discount to users who already own a Windows or Mac license: no setup fee and a 50% discount on the first year.

So here it is, the pricing structure for Connect:

* For new users:

Setup Fee: $29.95 (includes a free CueCat barcode scanner)

Monthly Fee: $4.95
Fee when paid one year in advance: $39.95 ( = 4 months free)

* For existing customers:
(users who already own a license of the corresponding Windows or Mac product)

Setup Fee: waived, but no free CueCat either, sorry :-)
Fee for first year: $19.95 (50% discount)
(after the first year, the regular fees will apply)

Connect Club update 3:

Today, I've got something special for you.

As a Connect Preview Club member, you'll be the first to browse a shared Movie Collector Connect collection.

We have created a special demo account, containing 30 movies, then published it using Connect's sharing features.

You can browse the demo account here:
http://connect.collectorz.com/users/demo/movies/

In just two weeks, you will be able to try the full functionality, including the super-slick Add Movies page and the two-way syncing between Movie Collector and Connect.

Two weeks? But isn't Movie Collector Connect supposed to be out on July 21?

Yes, it was. But we have decided to postpone the Movie Collector Connect release with one week. The ETA is now July 27.

My fault entirely, I just need a bit more time to streamline the registration and subscription system. On top of that, I will be speaking at a software developers conference in Boston this weekend. So releasing next Tuesday with me all jet-lagged didn't sound like a good idea after all...

The Connect Team is ready for launch though.
Robbert, Sven and Mark have completed the entire 1.0 feature set and are just tuning the performance now.
Ronald has completed the two-way syncing between Connect and the Windows edition. Dinh and Patrick are finalizing the two-way syncing for Movie Collector 3 for Mac OS X.

Okay, that's all for today.
I will probably be back next week, with the latest Connect news.
Maybe I can give you some screenshots of the syncing system then.