MyCarProjects.net

I’ve been pretty busy with things that have nothing to do with this site lately.  I’m still available to answer e-mails and fix problems, but development has been slow going lately.  Here’s what you can look forward to once I get more free time:

• Export/import job list.  Do you have a car with a unique set of maintenance tasks?  Export your task list and give it to other people with the same kind of car as you — then they can import your task list instead of typing everything in.
• Improved maintenance alerts.  Currently, you are only alerted to “almost due” and “overdue” maintenance tasks if you have performed the job before.  I will be making changes so you will receive alerts even if you have never done that maintenance job before.  For example, if you set up a new brake job task with a 50,000 mile interval, and you already have 60,000 miles on the car, you will be immediately alerted that your new task needs to be performed.
• Improved user interface for the Projects section.  I think that car enthusiasts aren’t seeing just how valuable this section of the site is, and it is partly because the user interface is not as good as it could be.  I will be making changes as soon as possible.
• Better “Tools” page, and more tools.
• More Articles, and a better interface for users to submit their own articles.
• More features and statistics for the Gas Mileage Log section of the site.  I already think this is the best gas mileage log software on the Internet, but I want to make it even better.

Thanks to my users for some of these ideas.  Keep ‘em coming.

We were having trouble remembering when our dog is supposed to take his medicine, so I figured I might as well set him up in the system as if he was a car.  Now we will get an e-mail when he needs his medicine.  The system is so flexible that you could add a maintenance log for just about anything.

Rooney’s Maintenance Log

Someone alerted me that they were not able to log their gas mileage by SMS on their phone.  I dug out the code and had a look, and it turns out that some phone providers format their SMS messages in a slightly different format when sent as an e-mail.  I made some code changes that should cover most people.  HOWEVER, if you are using AT&T, you may continue to have problems.  I’m looking to have a fix for AT&T users soon.

I published some updates to the site today, so please let me know if you have any problems.  Most of the changes are UI related and help to use your entire screen more effectively when you are logged in.

I also launched the SMS text message feature, which lets users log their gas mileage in the MyCarProjects.net system by sending a text message from their mobile phone.  I have not published instructions for how to use this feature yet, so either sit tight or e-mail me for instructions on what to do.  It’s really a neat feature, and it’s how I will be logging my own gas mileage from now on.  The only downside is that for the sake of simplicity, each phone number can only log a single car.  If you have multiple cars and only one phone, you will have to choose one car to log your gas mileage with SMS.  You can still log every car on the mobile web site, or of course, the main site.

I’m hard at work on a new way to use MyCarProjects.net on mobile phones, even if your phone doesn’t have full Internet access and a web browser. If you want to log your car’s gas mileage, all you have to do is send a text message to a special e-mail address with the miles you drove, the gallons you purchased, and how much you spent, and the system will process the text message and enter it into the system automatically. The next time you log in to the site, you will see that fillup on the list and plotted on your gas mileage graph just like normal.

I need some help from anyone who is interested to determine which cell phone providers will let you send an SMS text message directly to an e-mail address, and I may need a few testers to help me determine exactly how the e-mail will be formatted from different providers. Right now I’m testing on my Sprint phone, so Sprint users will be covered from day 1. If you’re not a Sprint user, but you are interested in this new feature, e-mail me.

In the meantime, you can log your gas mileage right at the pump with your phone’s mobile browser at mobile.mycarprojects.net.

The mobile phone edition of the site has launched at mobile.MyCarProjects.net.  Right now it’s pretty basic, but allows users to log their MPG into the system right at the pump.  It has been tested and scaled down to work with ease on a BlackBerry, so it should work on an iPhone without problems.  If it doesn’t work on your mobile phone, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

No, the title is not referring to wrenches and sockets.  I just launched a new section of the site for automotive-related calculators.  There is a tire size calculator there now, and I have plans for a loan calculator, and for MegaSquirt users, I am going to add a calculator to convert kPa to psi/vacuum.  If you have any special requests, be sure to let me know.

Check it out by going to the site and clicking on Tools.

I put a few more minor updates on the site tonight, and the big news is that I fixed the calendar bug for FireFox users.  I tested the fix with Internet Explorer, FireFox, and Safari, so everyone should be able to easily enter in dates using the calendar now.  If you continue to have the problem, you might need to clear your web browser cache.

 There are a few other changes I’m making the maintenance and fuel log pages that currently look best in Internet Explorer.  I will get a cross-browser fix out there as soon as possible.

I just pushed out some new changes, mostly consisting of small visual fixes and usability enhancements.  A few of the changes work differently in different web browsers, but I will make it more consistent as time allows.  One nice addition is that you can now download your gas mileage log to Excel.  Now I’m working on a bug fix that is keeping the FireFox users from using the calendar control for the maintenance and fuel log pages.  I will also be adding a way to edit existing gas mileage entries, so you won’t have to delete and re-enter a gas log entry if you make a mistake anymore.  Hopefully I’ll have those two items done in a week or so.

I changed the printer friendly view of the maintenance logs to be, well, more printer friendly.  Click here for an example.  I also added an Excel icon that will let you download your Maintenance Log to Excel.  This is different from the other Excel functionality I have been working on, because this is just a simple XLS file that you can download.  You can share your printer friendly maintenance logs with anyone, but you have to be logged in to download to Excel.