At 11:54 AM 9/30/97 -0400, Jerry J Bromenshenk wrote:
>Amazing!  All of the talk about bee software needs, and only two people
>offered to share a peak at their record keeping systems, and no one has
>responded to the request to start putting together a cooperative effort to
>pioneer some useful software via the expertise that resides on this list.
 
WOE, did we not get more then a look at what Allen is doing.<G> But I agree
we could share more but I am not sure we need to be pioneers.
 
I don't mind saying I use "MONEY TALKS" for my record keeping. I also use
"LOTUS" for beekeeping yard management. Don't know if these programs are
still in use as I use them on a old TANDY TL/2.<g>
 
>This leads one to speculate that either folks intend to produce their own
>and market it or that no one really wants to do the work involved.
 
I am sure others would like to sell me something and I am also sure I am
not into buying, I say lots of ruck to them. Not because I am so contrary
but because I have found that beekeepers work under very different
conditions and the information one person wants to collect is seldom the
same as what I want to collect. The other problem is that what has been
offered to beekeepers in the past was no more then a rip off of beekeepers
money and took advantage of their lack of experience with PC's and
commercial and shareware programs that were/are available many at no cost.
 
The other problem is getting all this information a beekeepers wants to
crunch into the PC. The only way I know of this working is what my good
friend Brian Ferguson does to keep his yard records up to date, if his
labor do not turn in the written records to his payroll clerk their hours
are not entered. I am sure this is a violation of Labor Law but it works
for him and at least he knows at all time the number and location of his
12,000 hives.
 
Others may be in a position of taking a lap top into the bee yard and
transferring information later into their main frame (PC)at home. And who
knows there may be one out there that uses a cell phone modem or satellite
hook up to directly address their PC with real time record keeping.
 
>Seems to me that the List would better serve its members by working
>together to produce something useful.
 
I am for that but I would think it would serve us better to know how
beekeepers are using commercially available data base programs and maybe
share overlays from these programs that beekeepers have created and use
themselves. I have seen a few of these around in the past and they are
available from most Farm Advisors and farm service providers for other farm
enterprises.
 
IMHO, ttul, the OLd Drone