Here's a quick update on where we stand with RDSS 2.1.
I had hoped for an update to the current version (V2.1.049.11) before the Saratoga meeting but alas
that won't happen 
Along with repairing some recent problems reported in that version (see the RDSS2.1
Bugs List for the gory details), for the past 4 months I have been working on migrating the whole RDSS software to the latest/greatest version of my programming tools (PowerBuilder 2019) - not a trivial project, but long overdue and offering MANY solutions for long-standing issues.
Also working on a quicker update on an older computer in my older development environment. Alas, earlier this week that old computer and thus my older programming tool version -
crashed, I presume permanently. That interferes with my schedule to offer a quick update to the current software (plus, I had long scheduled a week+ away - i.e.
now - the 2nd half of July).
So - a more inclusive and more stable update to RDSS 2.1 will likely come in
September as best I can estimate it. I wish it were otherwise. I wish many things were otherwise ...
The vexing part of whatever problems exist with the current version (V2.1.049.11) - is that they are not uniform for every user! Some people have a perpetual '
not responding' message, some people experience other random sluggish behaviour or more frequent crashes than before. Per discussion in the
Bugs List, many of these problem are solved for those who experience them by disabling the Tote System (see this post:
http://www.paceandcap.com/forums/sho...&postcount=251). This is because RDSS sometimes stalls while trying to get tote and scratch data from TwinSpires, and shutting of the RDSS Tote System prevents this. Also, TwinSpires itself is not infrequently slow and inaccessible, or a RDSS user may have a slow or intermittent internet connection. All these things can cause RDSS to in turn become sluggish, even crash sometimes.
Sometimes, the above solution is caused by Windows 10 SmartScreen security settings preventing access to either TwinSpires site, or by RDSS software. Disabling SmartScreen (google how) has solved these problems for some users, some of the time (though alas not for all
).
However, numerous other users report NO PROBLEMS at all using the SAME VERSION of RDSS, whether in Windows 10 or in several earlier Windows versions including Windows XP!)
Hence the 'vexing' part for me the programmer. I am VERY confident I can deal with many of the above and other more long-standing issues by porting the RDSS software to an updated programming environment (64 bit, multi-tasking, better memory management, better internet access tools and more - see the following post). For better or for worse, the decision I made (after some consultation) was to not pour more effort into the older version and instead work as fast as possible on a newer version with newer programming tools, hoping the above advice to workaround existing problems would serve most users for now.
In the next post, FWIW, I will outline my plans over the next year or so for RDSS.
As a reminder, I am on a holiday until the end of July right now, so m responses to technical and customer support issues will be much more intermittent for the next week or so.
Thank you all for your understanding of and patience with the recent RDSS stability problems, though I completely appreciate any impatience any of you do feel!
Some folks have told me they think I am no longer committed to evolving (or even repairing) RDSS.
This is absolutely not true! I AM committed to working on RDSS for at least several more years yet! I still have big plans for it, and use parts of it myself for handicapping and betting almost every day.
Ted