Archive for January, 2006

ezRETS 1.2.0 released

Published
by
Keith Garner
on January 26, 2006
in Announcements and Projects
. 0 Comments

old(?) rets logoezRETS is an ODBC driver that connects to RETS servers. It is licensed under an open-source license. It allows ODBC-aware applications, such as Microsoft Office (Excel, Word,) to easily load data from a RETS compliant server using those applications built-in wizards and other tools. Its cross platform and runs on Linux and Windows. OS X support is planned.

Right now, we only have a binary version for Windows, but that seems to be the most useful to the most people. For those who would like to see/edit/compile the source on Windows or Linux, the source is available via subversion as well as at the download page.

You can download it by visiting http://www.crt.realtors.org/project/rets/ezrets

Continue reading ‘ezRETS 1.2.0 released’

The What and When of CRT Projects

Published
by
Mark Lesswing
on January 26, 2006
in Projects
. 2 Comments

Here is a quick review of some of our more popular projects. All of these are cross-platform (Windows, OSX and Linux) Open Source projects so in addition to no licensing fee you have access to the underlying source code. There are licenses though. Please refer to the project page for each project and take the time to read the licenses.

  • ezRETS - A RETS ODBC Driver that can be used by developers as well as REALTORS® to integrate RETS into you desktop applications. This project is currently at release 1.1 with 1.2 being imminent. Version 1.2 will support Microsoft’s DTS. Version 1.3 is expected by the end of February and will include image and prepared statement support.
  • libRETS - A RETS client Library supporting many languages. Version 1.0 has been released with Version 1.1 anticipated before the end of February. Version 1.1 will support C#. If you are writing a RETS client, I wouldn’t even think about coding my own RETS code. This library allows you to focus on the application features, not the RETS protocol.
  • PolicyPage - An internet display policy checking tool for Associations and MLS. Currently at release level 0.9.7 (BETA) with a a 0.9.8 version expected in February. Version 0.9.8 will include “batch” processing. If more organizations would join the testing efforts, PolicyPage would drive towards version 1.0 faster.
  • Retriever - A PHP RETS client applicatin that generates HTML versions of listings. This project is currently at version 2.0 with no plans for major feature enhancements (unless there is a human outcry for MAP API support from the various search engine providers). The project is updated regularly with fixes for bugs though. If you are looking for RETS-based listing support for a website, I would recommend OpenRealty.
  • VieleRETS - A PHP RETS downloader supporting RDB, XML, CSV and OpenRealty. Version 1.0 is about to be refreshed with Version 1.1 that supports “update only” fetches. The future direction is to replace the PHP RETS engine (stolen from the Retriever project) with libRETS. This would be an example of “eating our own dog food” and emphasizes the comment I make regarding libRETS and how crazy it is to write your own RETS protocol code
  • Variman - A most excellent RETS server that is fast, free and able to support huge MLS operations. Version 2.1.8 was released this week and is used in production at MLS operations ranging from 8-45K members. It is also resold as part of a commercial product (not by NAR!). It is a natural for distributing listings to remote offices if you are a large brokerage.

NAR reaches out to the Bloggers

Published
by
Mark Lesswing
on January 26, 2006
in Announcements and Internet
. 2 Comments

New forms of communication are important to REALTORS®. NAR is keenly interested in new media channels and is therefore announcing that a dedicated room will be available to Real Estate bloggers during national meetings. The first meeting that this facility will be available for will be the 2006 Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo (May 15-20) in Washington, DC.

It is unfortunate that we could not react fast enough to the blogging phenomenon during 2005. The good news is that NAR will be supporting bloggers from this point forward.

The room will be operated by the staff of the Center for REALTOR® Technology (CRT) and you can expect power, internet connections and other comforts. If you would like to conduct interviews for your publication, drop us a line and arrangements will be made. There is one important point of differentiation between bloggers and the working press though, you must be registered for the conference.

Feel free to post other suggestions for the room to this forum. In particular, we would be interested in ideas related to special events, comforts and services that will make your activities easier during conventions.

NAR: CTO wanted

Published
by
Keith Garner
on January 23, 2006
in Announcements
. 0 Comments

anonymous_unknown.jpgOur HR dept has asked us to post this job opportunity within NAR. Also, don’t forget about CRT’s job opportunity.

The National Association of REALTORS®
the world’s largest trade association

Chief Technology Officer/Senior Vice President

NAR seeks a chief technical adviser and technology spokesperson within the Association and on behalf of the real estate industry. The CTO represents the Association in business and IT arenas as its technology innovator and champion.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Continue reading ‘NAR: CTO wanted’

It depends on the meaning of “good”?

Published
by
Mark Lesswing
on January 22, 2006
in Articles, General and Internet
. 4 Comments

I would like to stress the importance of building solutions that have utility to the end user. In Real Estate, the end user is typically the REALTOR® or the consumer, depending on the application. If you are producing a back-office or business application, your audience is the probably a REALTOR®. Similarly, front-office tools are built for the consumer.

If you purchase software-based solutions, you should consider the the thoughts of Jean-Baptiste Say, an influential economist who published his works in the early 1800’s:

The value of goods are derived from its utility to the user, not the labor spent in producing it.

I chuckle every time I hear a vendor say (oops, no pun intended) something like:

You don’t understand, this product is awesome because we have $4M in R&D behind it!

So what they are saying is that the tool must be good because of the dollars that have gone into it? Maybe the development budget is supposed to impress me? I question business models that have a lot of money poured in and result in very little organically derived results. Another motivation behind presenting products this way is that the vendor is pandering to the “techie” crowd. They try to impress you with business terms like “budget” and “investment”. This condescending approach reminds me of two memorable incidents from my past.

The first was from a salesmen who was explaining to me how good a tool was. He held up his fingers (as if playing charades) and made the quote sign as he explained that the tool was written in Java, a “programming language”. I was the CTO of the organization at the time and needless to say, the tool was not purchased.

The second story is more recent and was the result of being approached to engage a consulting company on some CRT projects. The salesman said “We have better people than anyone on your staff”. Of course, I could not resist the reply “Who do you know on our staff?”. The answer was “No one, but we have the best talent, trust me. You know Mark, it all about .NET these days”. I controlled my emotions and even offered a refill of his coffee before ending the meeting.

Let’s get back to the point though. After counting to ten to collect my composure, I typically ask one of the following questions of R&D based utility approaches:

  • How long did it take to develop?
  • How many people actually are using it?
  • Are you making money at selling this yet?
  • What was your inspiration for this product? (always a tough one to answer)

I am actually more impressed by tools that are novel and simple. These tend to provide utility to the end-user regardless of whether they are a REALTOR® or not. Overly complex tools are more often than not usually trying to “force” a solution on the market. Complex products require support structures that erode economic utility.

PolicyPage 0.9.7 released

Published
by
Todd Costigan
on January 17, 2006
in Announcements, MLS and Projects
. 0 Comments

PolicyPage is a new application from the Center for REALTOR® Technology. It is an MLS display policy compliance tool. PolicyPage is licensed under an open-source license.

PolicyPage reads MLS member websites and compares them to MLS rules (defined in PolicyPage.) It notifies the MLS and optionally the member when tests are failed. PolicyPage’s initial focus will be to deliver rules that allow checking NAR’s IDX model display rules.

The 0.9.7 enhancements include:

  • PolicyPage now uses parameters specified in a URL when evaluating Web sites (instead of stripping the parameters off).
  • The “How to Guideâ€? is now available in the Documentation section. This guide is in PDF format and contain numerous screen shots.

We continue to look to the MLS community to guide future development priorities. We invite and welcome your input.

PolicyPage comments (and bugs) can be posted to the project mail list.

You can download PolicyPage application by visiting the project site.

CRT on Rails

Published
by
Mark Lesswing
on January 10, 2006
in Off Topic and Reviews
. 0 Comments

You have probably been reading about Ruby on Rails, a very interesting strategy to web development. The following is related only in name to Ruby. I just arrived in NYC for the Inman Conference and though I would share my trip up from Washington, DC. I have been a “railfan� for many years and operate a HO scale layout in my basement. Before you ask, yes, all swiches are controlled from a Linux computer.

I started the journey to New York from my favorite rail station, Washington’s Union Station. The architecture is so impressive, I decided to arrive a bit early just to take it all in. I peered down the Metroliner section and noticed that they still run the “round� style cars I remember from the 80’s. But, I was going on the Acela so I kept walking.

I then stopped by the magazine stand and found four different Linux magazines, cool. I won’t be bored.

Continue reading ‘CRT on Rails’

Opportunity knocks

Published
by
Mark Lesswing
on January 4, 2006
in Announcements
. 0 Comments

anonymous_unknown.jpgCRT is looking to add a special person to the staff. CRT is a challenging, yet rewarding place to work with one of the positive points being the ability to contribute to CRT’s direction. If you want to get into some new areas, you should consider this.

Last year we focused on RETS libraries and drivers. This year we will be exploring more audio, video, mapping and VOIP applications. One of focus areas will be end-user applications using REST and AJAX technologies but plans can change quickly.

The position is available immediately and here is what we are looking for:

  • Code wrangling - We do work in a variety of languages. For example, among other languages, we’ve worked with C++, Java, PHP, and Ruby.
  • Humility - We do everything in the public eye, so be prepared
  • Openness - We do all our code as open source/free software and make heavy use of existing OSS tools.
  • Ability to create and present presentations - You need to be able to get up and talk on a stage covering a wide variety of technology topics.
  • Cross platform - We like to support them all: Unix, Windows, and Mac
  • Creativity - I don’t think you can do the above items without it!

Contact me (in confidence of course) if you have interest and I will pass on a more conventional job description. My phone is 312.329.8273.

We’re Baaaaaaaack

Published
by
Keith Garner
on January 3, 2006
in General
. 0 Comments

The holidays drove the members of CRT out of the office and out on vacation for some much needed rest and relaxation. Some of us even spent time away from the monitor. Our eyes still hurt from focusing on distances farther than a foot and a half away.

As my first act back in the office I’ve upgraded the blog to the recently released WordPress 2.0. As someone reading the blog, you shouldn’t notice anything. We’ve kept the same look and feel and the articles are all still there and under the same permalinks as they were before. If all went well, you won’t notice anything.

On the backend we get some neat new features such as a better text editor, some AJAX magic on the administration pages, and better post previews. The WordPress team sums it up much better in their WP2 announcement post.

The upgrade was very easy and a credit to the WP team. It did require us to upgrade one or two plugins we use to be happier with 2.0, but that was about it.