[chandler-users] Problems with Chandler hub

[Mark Hayes]

All,

I'm trying to get into using Chandler, I really am - but it's a lot 
harder work than I think we'd all like it to be...  Any help you could 
give me would be very much appreciated.

So first up, I've got problems with getting hub to work well.  It's the 
most important issue for me to solve right now 'cos I'd like to use 
Chandler at work and at home.  I'm using hub at work to allow me to 
access Chandler from my work PC.  Work locks down their computers a 
whole lot tighter than most companies.  We can't install any software 
that's not approved and authorised for the network.  We have no 
privileges to install at all, so hub it is.  It's a perfect workaround 
solution - if I can get it to work.

At work we use Windows 2000, with IE 6 (version 6.0.2800.1106).   I 
think that it's IE that's causing the problems - because I have a 
terrible time submitting anything to hub.  The main issue is when I 
click on "Save".

Sometimes (when I'm lucky and the wind is blowing in the right 
direction) it accepts the input, takes about one second to upload the 
info, and then it's good to go.  But it only works like that about 30 - 
40% of the time.  The rest of the time, it takes a long time to 
upload/accept the data, if it accepts it at all.  I get the "Processing" 
sign up to show that it's working on it, but if it stays up more than 10 
to 15 seconds, I know I'm in for a long wait...

About 30 - 40% of the time, it takes less than a second to accept and 
upload.  About another 10 to 20% of the time it takes up to fifteen 
seconds to upload and appear on my list - but at least it still works.  
The rest of the time it takes about five minutes of "Processing" before 
it tells me that it couldn't save my data.  Then it tells me that it 
can't tell me why it couldn't save it because the company uses pop-up 
blocking software (which I don't think it does - 'cos it doesn't stop 
pop-ups from other websites!).

When it can't save the data, funnily enough, the data I was trying to 
save does actually appear in the collection.  However, it's not really 
there 'cos if I go to another collection and then return, it's gone.  
This is, in fact, the only way to sort it out - you go to another 
collection, come back and then input once more and try to save it 
again.  I've gotten into the habit of always selecting all text I have 
written, copying it into notepad and then pressing save - so that I 
don't lose it when it (more often than not) doesn't work/save 
correctly.  Let's be honest, I shouldn't really have to do all that...
..
I can quite happily spend over an hour just trying to get less than ten 
tasks/items into a collection.  A great waste of time, if I wanted it.  
But then, if I wanted to waste time, I wouldn't really be trying to do 
it using "productivity software" - now there's an irony for you...!!!

A workaround that I've found is to use the Chandler quick-entry Google 
gadget on my iGoogle page.  However, that's just annoying.  One version 
of IE6 open to see Chandler hub.  Another one open on iGoogle just so 
that I can put info into Chandler hub...  and even then, there are 
issues with the process since I constantly have to refresh hub just to 
show the info I've submitted by the Chandler Quick-entry Google gadget.  
The Google gadget also has problems of its own -  the subject of 
comments from me on the author's page.

So I'm stuck.  I don't seem to be able to get hub working at all.  Is it 
something that I'm doing wrong?  Is anyone else seeing major issues with 
trying to use the hub system?

As an aside:  I'm aware that you can also install Chandler on a USB 
stick.  I've done this quite successfully - and it looks great, working 
on my desktop.  But it can't access the internet at work to synchronise 
with hub - so I'm stuffed there too.  Access to the internet via IE6 at 
work is by use of a script (the location of which is greyed out, so I 
can't copy the directory/file location into Chandler etc).  Besides, I'm 
sure that this would constitute a transgression of the IT rule-book and 
get me dragged over the coals by the PC police...  I'm not sure I'd 
really want to work on Chandler all day at work from a USB stick, then 
bring it home to run it from a USB stick on my Linux PC so that it can 
sync with hub, so that I could use the stand-alone version on my home 
Linux PC which would then sync back down to my desktop...  In my view 
that just constitutes what can only be described as a huge PITA.

I'd rather just be able to use hub.

Please help me here.  I'm really trying to get Chandler to work for me - 
I've tried loads of options.  But I just can't seem to get there.

Any help you could give me would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark.