Computer Based System

[william winalot]

RUN ALL OF THE PROGRAMS UNDER GWBASIC

GWBASIC IS MUCH EASIER TO WORK.

GWBASIC AT,

SAVE GWBASIC INTO HORSES DIRECTORY

http://www.geocities.com/rhinorc/gwbasic.html

[JAR]

Oops William

I did not intend to offend you.  I perfectly understand your choice of simple BASIC.  I have in fact written a program in VB – trouble is, it is not easy to post the code forwards via this forum and anyone who would be interested may not be able to adapt it.   I am quite happy to accept that your are probably a better programmer than me.

You are obviously  a good person letting people have your code for free.;)

I learnt how to program back in the days of the Sinclair computer, however as I was unable to obtain employment as a programmer, I lost interest in programming to some extent.  I now only write programs occasionally for fun, although I have written programs in Pascal, JavaScript, GFA Basic and Visual Basic.

[william winalot]

Jar.

Thanks,No offence taken.

Sometimes on the Internet,the message is not always plain,messages can be taken out of context.

That is why it is called the NET.

We get tangled in the NET sometimes,and can not always get out.

I could make a Program so that everyone could easily Download it directly from this forum.

But it would take a considerable time to do,of which I do not have much.

Very busy,lying on the couch,looking at the T.V.

I could also have E-Mailed the COMPLETE,and much better program.

But not everyone likes giving their E-Mail address on a forum,Myself included.

Hope this clears up everything.

Good Luck.

[nall]

Hi WW

I no sweet FA about comps and how they work, so<br>am not confident about this task

nall

[JAR]

Hi all<br>I’ve just noticed that the Racing Post are messing about with their website again.  They have now split the racecards into two sections so that Postdata information and the main body of the racecard is separate when viewed on screen.  Also if your computer is not set at the correct time and date the site sometimes refuses to work.

It seems harder and slower to look at the racecards and data.  I would not be suprised if very soon you have to pay to look at print-outs from this site in print so small you almost need a magnifying glass to read it.

It takes long enough to input data into a computer for a basic analysis without making it even more difficult to get the data in the first place.

If they take the fun out of horse racing by making it so difficult and time consuming to read the data , people may as well put money on the lottery.  

***** Sorry Again *****

Forget about the above. the Postdata information is now back with the main racecard information.  It seems that the Racing Post had yet another problem with their website. ( Which has been solved, for now at least!!! I don’t think the "Kiss" principle is recognised by Racing Post web page designers.)  I think that now just the Selection Box is missing, perhaps that will reappear tomorrow?

I really wish there was a simple website in which each separate racecard had a form rating and a speed rating, plus a number of expert tips for each horse, plus its last 6 race placings, and also noted if each horse is suited to the going, and distance and if its trainer is in form on one simple web page that I could save or print.  

I do not want to print all the racecards for a meeting when I simply wish to bet on one race nor do I wish to become an Acrobat Reader Expert in order to save a racecard.  What happens when Acrobat Reader saves something and then won’t reload it for viewing? How many non-experts know why this can happen and what to do when it does?

It looks as if the Racing Post web site will become even more complex.  I am sure that this will put off some potential users simply because many people are not comfortable with the use of every piece of computer software.  A website must be simple to use for the general public.

I am sure some people out there will have a different view, experts often cannot understand why the uninitiated are not comfortable with a piece of software they can use in their sleep.

(Edited by JAR at 12:34 pm on Sep. 24, 2003)<br>

(Edited by JAR at 12:53 pm on Sep. 24, 2003)

[william winalot]

JAR.

Why don’t you just select the parts you need,and copy them into NOTEPAD.

That way you only need to print what you need.

You could also SAVE the copy,for further use.

You could then build up a portfolio of records.<br>

[JAR]

Hi William<br>That’s pretty much what I do at the moment, I select the parts I need then copy them into Word for Windows.

The trouble is I think that when the Racing Post becomes pay to view they may make it so that you cannnot do this.:)  I am not sure how they will achieve this.  But if they are going to make the racecards and form pay to view they are unlikely to have racecards you can simply copy for ones own use.

[william winalot]

Jar.

If the RACINGPOST are going to have Pay Per View.

Then it would probably be cheaper to go and buy the<br>Racingpost Paper.And you would have these copies for reference.

Jar.I will let you in on a little SECRET,

It is very easy to get into a site,if you know what you are doing,{ read between the lines }ANY site can be entered,even sites that have Passwords,Usernames.

Look at it this way,Programmers had to make a program for the site,if you were a Programmer,then you would have the same knowledge has them.You would know the Ins and Outs of programing.

If I so wished I could get INTO ANY site.But I would do so only for MY OWN benefit,never for others.

I am presently working on a program for Mick O Soft {Irish Pun} to STOP just what I can do.Also another program to stop Virus Intrusion.

In my opinion,if you were registered with the RACINGPOST site before they start charging,I do not think that they would DELETE you from their Database,as they must have hundreds of thousands of registered users.If they deleted everyone that did not want to pay,they would decrease the value of their site.And their advertisers would not advertise on their site.

I do not think you have anything to worry about yet.

(Edited by william winalot at 12:14 am on Sep. 25, 2003)

[JAR]

Hi William<br>Not sure what you are saying on "hacking".  However if the Racing Post do start charging a fee, I hope it is cheap.<br>There are others sources of information though not so complete as that of the Post .<br>For example:<br>TimesOnline – Wright Choice<br>SunOnline – Templegate<br>Adrian Massey Ratings<br>Teletext – Stan Steer Tips<br>Network-Racing Racecards<br>Just to name a few.

I only wager in small amounts so free sites plus my daily newspaper would become my main source of information if the Racing Post started to ask for a fee.:) <br>

[william winalot]

Jar.

I NEVER mentioned anything about hacking.<br>I would NEVER think of hacking into anyones site.<br>As I think hacking is what is ruining the Internet.<br>What I was trying to say was,that if you have the knowledge of programing,then you can access ANY site.<br>Since you asked me about programing,I was just trying to show you that I have the skills to help you or others.<br>Another thing I was trying to relay was,I am not worried about any site charging for their services.Look at Microsoft,one of the Biggest sites on the internet,they do not charge for any of their downloads,simply because they know that they would be onto a loser if they did.Because they know that ANY site could be violated,and that as you say "{ HACKERS"} would then set up their own site,and give away their downloads for free,simply charging for the time spent on the site.And with Broadband that would not be for very long.

That is why in my opinion,the RACINGPOST will not charge a fee to enter their site.

Do I get my point across.

[JAR]

Hi William<br>Yes your point is clear.<br>I think you are mistaken about the Racing Post.  When you go into the racecards there are several buttons which say "Free for today".  There is also a dialog box that says " PDF reports are free of charge at present ".<br>If they are not going to charge, why do this?

I have some basic programming and horse analysis skills.  When there are aspects of either I do not understand half the fun is in finding out for myself and learning new skills.:biggrin:   This is a hobby for me, just an interest, it is not important or related to how I earn my living.  

[Matron]

I believe that main part of the RP will be free.

I think JAR is quite right that the "print-outs" will not be free for much longer and a fee will have to be paid.

Regards – Matron<br>:cool:

[william winalot]

I have just come from the RACINGPOST SITE.

In my opinion the RACINGPOST are just promoting Adobe Acrobat Reader,they are one of their Advertisers.<br>If this were not the case,then why not just let users view the pages,as they are free anyway.

I bet anyone on this forum,that when you download Adobe reader,it will only be a shareware program.After a certain time you will have to purchase the full program.

See below,from racingposts page.

Could this be the case.<br>————————————————————————<br>To view PDF’s you will need to download Adobe FREE acrobat reader

[william winalot]

I was WRONG.

I downloaded the program.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is a FREE PROGRAM.

No hidden gimics.

Try It.

[tttracing]

The racing post web site used to charge a fee when they first started 4 or 5 years ago – it was £10 a month and caused no end of difficulties – not because of the money but because their admin system failed and they abandoned subs after 3 or 4 months.

It has been free for about 3 years now and I reckon they are dry running so as not to make the same mistakes. They will probably charge around £10 a month and they will probably have subs in place prior to the 2004 turf flat season.

[JAR]

The Racing Post site is becoming a "pain" to use. If the internal clock on your computer is not set to the correct time the site will either not let you log on or it will do nothing while the computer loads a page from cache memory.  Why it should matter to the Post what time you have on your computers internal clock I cannot imagine.  The Sporting Life web site is much faster, a pity they cannot provide horse handicap ratings.:( <br>I would like to see less of a monopoly on horse ratings to avoid the tendency of everyone betting on the same horse.<br>John

[MrE]

Hi John, I was waiting ages for the pages to download on the RP website, especially the dog pages, it took me hours to go through all the races at each meeting. I downloaded a free connection booster and its made all the difference, its not as fast as the Sporting Life and other sites but its a damned sight faster than it was, at least I can get through all my studying in an hour now. It also helps if you go into the "Options" tab on your browser and make sure the Download Images, video and sound are all unchecked. You’ll find those under…. Options- Current page download…. but get yourself a connection booster, it makes a difference….. Winalot can probably explain it cos I aint gotta clue but its something about the information coming down in small packages instead of the stuff coming down scattered all over the place, the booster keeps it tidy and compact….. is that right Will……

MrE

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