[FeedXL Blog] FeedXL is coming!
FeedXL is coming!
The FeedXL team have been working very hard getting FeedXL ready to release to the wild. We have a few major items to complete before we can open up access to all but the core of FeedXL is mostly complete and is working like a charm.
We are about to enter a period of Alpha testing the software with a small group of horse owners. The aim is to identify major bugs before we unleash FeedXL on the world and work further on the incomplete bits. Once we complete all of the major components of the software we will be moving to a Beta test which will involve a larger group of testers. During this phase we will be attempting to iron out any "show-stopper" bugs. If you're interested in participating in our Beta test, fill in a request to be kept informed; we'll be selecting people at random from this list so we have enough people to ensure a thorough workout of the software.
FeedXL is based on the popular Equilize software by Nerida Richards, although existing Equilize users may not recognise the new software as FeedXL has been built from the ground up. Nerida's extensive expertise and understanding of horse nutrition has been built into FeedXL and will be constantly updated by her in response to research from all around the world and her daily experience in her role as consultant to some of Australia's peak horse owners.
Tango's Calcium looks OK, but his Energy intake is a bit low
There are 2 core principles that guide us as we develop FeedXL:
- Taking the most up-to-date horse nutrition research and embedding it into software in a form that is accessible to horse owners of all types and experience levels.
- Building software that is usable--unfortunately, a lot of software is released to the market that is built by computer people with little consideration for how people in the real world will understand and interact with it. Since the early prototypes of FeedXL, we have been conducting "user tests" on real horse owners, including people who have little computer expertise. Our goal is that everybody will find FeedXL a joy to use and that confusion is not part of the experience.
Unfortunately we are unable to give a firm release date and we don't
want to commit to a timeframe that may lead to us releasing software
that is really not ready. The best we can do at this time is say that
we hope to have a public release within a few months from now. Unfortunately for our international visitors, the initial release will only be available to Australian users but we are already working on expanding our feeds database to other countries.
Over the coming months we'll keep you updated through this blog and via email for those who have filled in the form. Nerida will also be using this blog to post on a whole range of horse nutrition topics and we encourage everyone to join in on the discussion by using the comment feature.
If you haven't already done so, be sure to check out our new Tour page. It's been recently updated to include 35 new screenshots of FeedXL in action. Click on each of the main images to see more about each part of FeedXL.
Looks fantastic! I love the new photos, and extra information. Hope to see more soon. When can we see the feeds/products that are included in the program?
Thanks for your comment Sheree, we are glad you like how it is looking! Re the feeds that are included in the program, we have put together an extensive database of feeds and supplements that includes all the raw materials like chaff, grains, protein meals and various types of hay as well as commercial feeds and supplements from all the major feed and supplement companies in Australia (and we will be doing the same for other countries soon). The good thing is though, if there is a feed or supplement that you use that is not in the database you can send us the information (or tell us where we can find it) and we will put it into FeedXL for you.
Before we release FeedXL we will put a specific list of the feeds and supplements included in the software into the FAQ section on the FeedXL website.
Hi
I will be interested in trialling your Beta program when it becomes available. I use Equalize every couple of weeks over winter with my "gang" so will be happy to find any glitches for you.
Cheers
Ruth
Looks very promising and user friendly.
I thought Equilize was pretty good but FeedXL is fantastic. Particularly like the pasture feature. The proposed purchase arrangement is fabulous, makes it accessible to everyone and still current, really great idea.
Can't wait for it to go live!!!
this looks very interesting, was wondering if the program will be brand specific. will you promote companies that support you, or does the package break down basic feeds into grain types.
Hi Dale, The whole concept behind FeedXL is that it will allow horse people to see if a particular feed suits their horse or not. FeedXL won't bias analyses toward any company in any way. It is simply a matter of if a feed is good, you will be able to see that it is good, or if a feed is poorly balanced you will also be able to see that too. It will be up to each individual user to make up their own minds as to which feeds and supplements they end up using.
We won't be doing any promotion of any feed companies either. We will keep you up to date when a company releases a new feed and may provide areas on the site where feed companies can tell you about new products, but we won't promote them.
The really nice thing about FeedXL is it will alow you to make the best feed choices for your horses without being influenced by anyone. And it also allows you to create diets using your own grains and forages, so you don't have to use commercially available feeds. Hope that answers your query!
Nerida