Gents:

We have been a huge part of the Alpha (mirco/sabio) community dating all the way back to the late 1970s. (no, not me i am NOT that old! But certainly been doing this for my lifes work... Times like this i miss Herman!). To think that we have made this thing work for 6 decades is huge, which makes it all the harder to come to terms that the ride is over. Some may also know that i had been in the midst of a major gui re-write which was looking great which makes this information harder to swallow. Alas, the owners have sold the company to an international medical billing firm and they have no interest or intent on salvaging any of the the code or even most of the customers. We are currently in the process of liquidating all customers. I will be around to keep the lights on as long as we have customers still using our software, which could be 6-12 mos +/-.

I owe the community to let you know that we will no longer be involved in driving the future of ashell but certainly hope for its longevity! I will be working as the maytag repair man and will be in and out but i am always willing to share any knowledge I have and be happy to help in any way.

I want to thank every single member of the community for keeping our ship sailing but especially our very own Cap'n Jack who has given everything and left nothing behind. Special thanks to first Mate Ty who has been a steady hand at the mast keeping the ship course straight and true. I have enjoyed your company, comraderie and friendship over the many years.

Now where was that lifeboat...

Dear Frank,
I can't find the right words for this and don't want to bring here too much sadness, the first thought that comes to mind is the hope that you will be fine and have a nice plan for the future.
The second thought is to not lose the contact with you besides we all will lose your always great contributions for this community.
Wish you all the best for the new reality and let you know about my enormous pleasure to meet you.
Truly hope to see you around, any where and be my guest to come visit me here, in Rio, or in Porto.

Big hug

Frank,

We knew this was coming, but it still packs a punch. edgeMED (originally Florida Medical Computers) finally committed to A-Shell in 2001, after a very lengthy and thorough period of tests (which seemed to last years!) I guess it paid off, since we've had a mutually profitable and successful relationship ever since (not counting our personal relationship which will be memorialized some day in a umpteen-thousand page curated collection of our email communications).

Not long into the relationship, maybe in 2003, during a meeting with you and management, the owner Dr. Kurstin complained that they were having difficulty selling a text-based solution, and I showed him the most primitive bare-bones GUI capabilities that I had been tinkering with. He either had a great imagination, or was just desperate, but based on his enthusiastic response, you and I went to lunch and plotted how we could streamline a conversion of your existing text based screen framework into GUI, and within a year or so you were successfully selling a GUI version. And continued selling it, with various rounds of aesthetic improvements over the next couple of decades (a lifetime in this industry). Ultimately it wasn't the user interface but marketplace dynamics that turned medical billing software into a commodity. Although the company pivoted nicely by opening its own billing service, marketplace consolidation became the final straw. (The damage caused by the recent months-long hack of one of the largest medical insurers probably ought to cast some doubt on the wisdom of all this consolidation, but unfortunately no one asked for our advice before forging ahead.)

The good news is: you'll soon be free to redirect all of your accumulated skills and talent towards a new startup-up venture of some kind. Perhaps a package for managing post-retirement honey-dos? In any case, there'll be no work conflicts keeping you from attending future A-Shell Conferences. (I'll pencil you in for a seminar on your next act.) Until then, so long, and thanks for all the fish.

Jack

Jorge, Jack thanks for the kind messages as they have made me and

Jorge - you have been a sincere master here molding this environment into results that i don't think anyone thought possible! Not only with your abilities to create LEO! I admire and respect your talent and work ethic!

Jack - i still recall our meeting in Deerfield Beach where i think we literally scribbled out the beginnings of ashell/gui on a napkin! You wrote the startup code on the plane ride east! Proud of everything that we all have accomplished and it bears repeating that w/o your relentless pursuit of perfection none of us would be here! I agree that healthcare and many other industry are now just fodder for these investment firms (and yes that is part of the reason we were liquidated). Part of the plan is reduce competition and there is only so long that we as small shops can stay afloat. With that being said i believe you might be right and i might have a little more free time ahead...I would hate to watch you all work at the conference though!