New Software Announcement - SIXTH SENSE

[teddyFBI]

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As one software company owner to another, I'd like to offer some advice. The only reason your software accesses your servers is for a table list, correct? Something that could be done on the client machine. I honestly don't see many people paying monthly for this. Make it an option. Have a subscription service for people who want to offload the processing, and have a one-time payment option for those who don't. If you don't, I believe you'll severely limit your potential number of users.

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One MAJOR thing that I think is being overlooked (and I probably didnt make a big enough point of it) is that the final version will support a variety of different sites.

For example
Say you want to search for the most profitable tables in NL100-400 on PartyPoker, Crypto, Prima, and B2B. If the scanner was client side - ALL of these lobbies would need to be opened, and would have to be scanned separately. The process would take probably 5-10 minutes, and by the time you're done - the best seats could have been taken, the best tables could be broken up, etc. A LOT happens within 5-10 minutes.

Once we support server side scanning of these sites, not only will you be able to generate an entire list that is less than a few minutes old, you dont even have to have a single lobby open. You can pick your best tables over a list of sites without even logging in.


I do like your suggestion for a fully-client-side version for a 1-time fee. Such a program would be much more limited in capability, and take up a decent amount of CPU load than a server-run list...but if there is a demand, we would work on such an upgrade.

Thanks,
Dan

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I know very little about programming, but I am also wary about anything that needs to connect to an external server from my machine...but there is a potential solution here:

* First of all, I like the server-side scanning -- PTS is also very slow and buggy for me and I haven't really used it at all.

* BUT, there seems like there would be a solution for those that want frequent server-side table scans without having to send any data from their machine...make it some sort of continuously-updated list that your subscribers can quickly download from a members-section of your website, which can then be imported into the client software on the user's computer.

For example: at any time, a user could log into the members-only section of your website, and download the most current version of your scanned table-player list...which will be updated as often as you're able...so I'd download a file called 313pm.sxth or something proprietary like that, which your software on my machine can then import, and generate a list of tables that meet my criteria.
I'm sure there were a dozen things wrong with my suggestion, but I think you see what I'm getting at...there should be a way for you to figure out how to get the updated list of players to the user's computer without the need for a direct real-time connection that will make people (myself included) uneasy.

This will of course come at the expense of a little bit of speed, and it's true that 'a lot' can happen in 10 minutes, but let's not exaggerate things...if a 'good' table breaks in a few minutes, it's not a table where a player was going to make a big score anyway.

[SixthSense]

Very excellent points, Teddy. I really appreciate your feedback.

Your suggestion really isnt very far from what is currently happening.

Our server isnt some big mean data-exchanging system that has constant access to your PC.

You log in, it sends your Sixth Sense username/password, software version #, the game types you chose from the list, and that's it.

This is the same amount of information that would be transferred if you were...say...logging into a members only section of a webpage [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] (minus the software version that is)

One thing I would also like to stress - this isnt a constant server connection. No data transfers are made after you've logged in until you click the "Refresh" button, which requests the latest list from the server. Essentially, there is no difference between this, and hitting the Refresh button on internet explorer if we were hosting the list from a website.

As for the whole 10 minutes having a big effect issue - You should try using the program, but dont refresh the table list for 10 minutes and see how accurate the results are. I play poker professionally, and have spent a large amount of time testing this tool. I can guarantee you'll see a very large difference between 2 and 10 minutes [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I think that covers everything you asked/suggested. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

And thanks for your time - I say that in all of my posts, but I really mean it. We have put our blood and guts into this program and we REALLY appreciate all of your feedback, good and bad.

-Dan

[teddyFBI]

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Our server isnt some big mean data-exchanging system that has constant access to your PC.

You log in, it sends your Sixth Sense username/password, software version #, the game types you chose from the list, and that's it.

This is the same amount of information that would be transferred if you were...say...logging into a members only section of a webpage [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] (minus the software version that is)

One thing I would also like to stress - this isnt a constant server connection. No data transfers are made after you've logged in until you click the "Refresh" button, which requests the latest list from the server. Essentially, there is no difference between this, and hitting the Refresh button on internet explorer if we were hosting the list from a website.


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If this is the case, is there anything stopping you from making the data-exchange very transparent to the user so that computer-savvy people (which I am not) could essentially verify for the rest of us peons that that really is the only data being exchanged? I really don't know how all this works, but I'm suggesting to you that this is likely to be the biggest hangup for people (that and the monthly fee...yikes, that can really add up!), so I recommend doing everything in your power to make the 'scariest' part of the process as transparent as possible.

[SixthSense]

All of the data transfers are visible and available if you check the Log in Sixth Sense (ctrl+L). I guess if someone wanted to, they could sniff out the packets that are sent to and from the server to make sure we arent hiding anything.

I invite...actually, I WELCOME any of you computer savvy people to come check the program out and confirm that nothing malicious is going on. Such a confirmation would be very positive for our credibility.


It seems like it would take a 3rd party unaffiliated with us to go through and confirm that Sixth Sense is legit. All we can do to earn your trust until then is continue providing support and upgrading the program.

Thanks again [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
-Dan

[Tk79]

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Honestly, any software you download could be connecting to a server without you knowing it.

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WRONG

[rvg72]

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I see dead fish.

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Somebody needs to write software that protects the fish... Poor fishies.

Seems like two really good products but each with their own strengths and weaknesses. I guess it will be a race between PTS adding server controlled table lists vs Sixth Sense allowing more customizability / control over the fish list.

Personally I hope both of your products fail because I don't like sharing my fishy friends with others [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] j/k (kind of) Good work on the programs.

rvg

[SamIAm]

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Honestly, any software you download could be connecting to a server without you knowing it.

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WRONG

[/ QUOTE ]I gotta admit, this was my first response, too. I know other software (e.g. PTS) doesn't send anything because it doesn't SEND anything; it works while firewalled from the net. Since yours will require constant back&forth with your server, I'm more concerned.

If you watched my cards/passwords WHILE charging for the beta, I'd be super impressed. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
-Sam

[SixthSense]

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Honestly, any software you download could be connecting to a server without you knowing it.

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WRONG

[/ QUOTE ]I gotta admit, this was my first response, too. I know other software (e.g. PTS) doesn't send anything because it doesn't SEND anything; it works while firewalled from the net. Since yours will require constant back&forth with your server, I'm more concerned.

If you watched my cards/passwords WHILE charging for the beta, I'd be super impressed. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
-Sam

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The constant back and forth is limited to how many times you hit the Refresh button. Nothing is sent/received unless you hit that button. So if you want it to run in the background until you need to find another table - no data transfers whatsoever.

I hope someone comes in here and does a thorough security evaluation. We're really not after your passwords and hole cards - just your sign-up cost [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[RiverFenix]

Ill check it out when you run the beta. I tend to stay away from alphas until betas because they offer increased reliability and more options. Sounds like a great piece of software and i hope you get enough attention to keep developing it.

[SixthSense]

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Ill check it out when you run the beta. I tend to stay away from alphas until betas because they offer increased reliability and more options. Sounds like a great piece of software and i hope you get enough attention to keep developing it.

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Well its free now. Beta wont be. I'd suggest giving it a shot while it doesnt cost you anything. But thats just me [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

But we are moving this project forward at a VERY fast pace. This feedback has driven us to get things moving [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]