Developers, is Dolphin U awesome?

I would like to hear about Dolphin U. What are the pros and cons? How is the responsiveness of the template? Pleeaassee I need info. Can I import from my Dolphin Classic or should I tell members to create new accounts?

:popcorn:

My questions are along the line of modules.  From what I read, the module system in Dolphin U is going to be much different than in Dolphin Classic.  What does this mean for modules and developers offering free upgrades of their modules?

It most likely means many may not. I myself am still thinking it over. Things are different enough that it will be like writing a new module. And that is going to require a lot of time.

So how many developers will do Dolphin U versions of the modules and how many will offer them as free upgrades is a unknown.

As dolphin classic will also still be developed, it may be that the developers will continue to offer free updates for the life of dolphin classic(D7) but may not extend that to Dolphin U(D8) which is a very different version of dolphin.

Some of the modules may not even pass boonex requirements, and this screening process may very well over whelm their staff which will also affect how fast new modules become available for Dolphin U.

I also have a bad feeling that boonex is not going to give the developers enough time before they actually release it to the public. I am not sure they get how many modules some developers actually have.

 What can I say so far after testing it a little bit, the modules structure seems pretty the same, I don't think we'll need to rewrite a lot in our modules. But a few cool useful things has been added, so there will be more possibilities. ;)  Language files are in standard xml structure.

What about built in anti-bot features to end this bot signup madness. I would like to just install Dolphin and let it roll.

What the hell is Dolphin U?

Andrew Boon released some "notes" about Dolphin U.  Dolphin 8 is going to be branded as Dolphin U and Dolphin 7 is going to be branded as Dolphin Classic.  I will agree that I am not very excited about the name, "Dolphin U" but then I was not asked.

 
It's Dolphin 8 renamed. D8 is so different from D7 that it was determined that it will be released as a separate product. D7 will continue to be developed as well.

D7 has been renamed as well. It is now called Dolphin Classic.

http://www.boonex.com/n/dolphin-u-and-dolphin-classic

Your not the only one. The name was argued for quite some time by boonex and the first who were invited to the private preview. http://www.boonex.com/n/dolphin-8-sundance-alpha-private-preview

It's free? Yes! Jackpot.

so far the only thing I've been able to divine about dU is a bunch of positive rhetoric about how forward thinking and innovate the structure is.  I hope that's really the case and I look forward to the day that peons like me can learn some actual detail.

what I'm much more interested in is what dU changes from dC in terms of user experience.  What will the changes in user functionality be?  perhaps better and more detailed admin controls, or a better match algorithm, or stable and separate Profile Photos & Avatar mods, or a whole world full of web 3.0 features for us to put out to our users, or...

the one tidbit I read that really excited me was the advancement of the mobile platform in dU.  its the way the world is going and better is always better.

I hope that any real breakthroughs, especially with regard to mobile, can somehow be echoed in dC.  I'd hate for the many of us that have dC sites get left too far behind.   Hell, I just went live today.  I can't be obsolete until at least Sept.

 dolphin u might be free but it's going to cost a lot of money to re-purchase all the mods i've got, that's providing the developers actually make them, they might decide some of their older mods are not worth it, not to mention the mods i've got where the developer isn't around anymore, not to worry yet though, i'm sure it will be quite a while before it's been tested enough and that there are enough mods on the market to go live with a dolphin u based site, my main question is will everything (members, content etc) be able to be used from a dolphin 7 site to a dolphin u site or would it mean starting from scratch?

These are points that are on my mind as well.  Hopefully more information will be forthcoming to let us know what we can expect with such issues as migrating a Dolphin C site to a Dolphin U site; or if it will even be possible.  If it means lost of modules important to my site, then there can be no migration to Dolphin U even if such a migration is possible and Dolphin U will be only if I decide to build a new site with a new license purchase.

Am I reading Andrew's update incorrectly then? The way I read it was the modules will work on both Dolphin U & Dolphin Classic. If they didn't then surely the point about licenses covering both versions is pointless as it relies on the Developer making an extension for both versions & maintaining them. It would also create a lot of members switching to Dolphin U then contacting Developers wanting a version of extensions they have purchased. Potentially, there could be very few extensions available for Dolphin U initially whilst many members have a host of extensions that in theory become redundant after they have paid for them. Obviously you are always going to get that if Developers create extensions but don't produce an upgrade when the Classic version is updated but surely it would be far more widespread if extensions didn't work on both versions. Is it not possible that both versions are very different but the extensions could still work in the same way?

Dolphin Classic modules are NOT compatible with Dolphin U.

Deano I am guessing you will be VERRRRRRYYYYYYYYYY busy updating ?!

I'm not understanding the Dolphin U thing at the moment and I have only just been hearing about this now as I have been very busy with work etc.

Quite Busy. But i have not actually decided yet what i am going to do. Technically Dolphin U is a separate product than Dolphin Classic.

Yes, and it would probably have been better for Boonex to give Dolphin U a different name to clearly distinguish it as a separate product.  This would have made more sense from a marketing standpoint as well and would have eliminated some of the confusion.  Hopefully Boonex will reconsider the Dolphin U name before it becomes written in stone.

 Then I'm guessing nobody is going to buy any more modules until there is some clarification on what this means. Right now, every member on this site has spent a small fortune on modules that will become useless if they switch to Dolphin U. Without trying to sound negative about the product as details are sketchy at the moment, it is hardly the best advert for it right now.

That's if they decide to switch.

Dolphin Classic(D7) the current version of dolphin is going to continue to be developed. So switching will be a personal choice.

Also, if the two products are very different to the point that one is not compatible in any way; such as migrating a Dolphin C site to a Dolphin U site, it might be better to separate the market; a separate Dolphin U market from the Dolphin C market.  I don't know if that has been considered or not, those in on the preview and testing might know more about this aspect of Dolphin U.  The reason I say this is because it might also prevent confusion in the market and those developers not interested in creating modules for Dolphin U would not have to worry about confusion from customers.

I wish Andrew would come in here and answer some questions. It's my understanding that the details are to be kept quiet until the public release. I most likely without thinking have already said to much.

I don't know, I guess we will have to wait for further info which I hope will be forthcoming sooner rather than later because as site builders we need to decide & possibly plan for changes to our sites. I am still confuse though & this thread hasn't really clarified anything. We are being told that the modules are not compatible but then BoonExpert earlier in the thread said that the modules structure looks the same so I guess we'll have to wait until we see for ourselves. My site has taken months to build along with a ton of modules. Right now, I don't see me switching no matter how good it is unless some of my modules have become standard in the new product.

 I agree. It's not like we need to know the full functionality of the product, just some basic answers to what appears to be the same questions we all have. I for one appreciate your feedback on what you have told us Deano whilst not giving away too much.

One thing that has been made clear is that Boonex is switching back to the "core" platform being free, no Dolphin bug or attribution.  Modules by Boonex will be offered in the Market (which is why modules won't be compatible) and one can buy just the modules they need for their site.  This could mean that one can build a Dolphin U site cheaper than current licensing.  Other social platforms use this format.  A license purchase gets one all of the Boonex modules.

 I guess I'm not 'Stoic' enough even though I've been here since 2009.....

From what I understood, it was opened to developers only; however, I could be wrong.

If any video developers are reading this, all I need is a super bad A** video module and I'll be good to go. Make it just like Youtube.

 On this account I have been here since 2008 including a number of years on another account I use to have before that!

 did they add file manager in dolphin U for tiny mce.

is dolphin U template is responsive ??

regards,
prince

 good question ....

IMO it's essential that sites these days are responsive! More people browse the web on mobile devices than ever before and I actually see responsive sites killing site apps ultimately. I have converted all my sites I own (Dolphin and non-Dolphin) to responsive just about and I can see Google is also approving of this and somewhat favoring responsive sites (I think due to being more user friendly)!

I'm also not sure what I should share, so I'll leave it to Andrew as well. Hopefully he'll come around shortly and answer some questions. But I will say that Dolphin 7 (Classic) and Dolphin 8 (U) are different. Consider them as different products instead of a simple number change, because that's basically what it amounts to. It's kind of like BBOS 7 and BB10 (only in this case, BBOS 7 will still be actively developed as the stable choice). This is why it's no longer called Dolphin 8.

 Yeah OK, .... but 'Dolphin U' LMAO

edit: what's the U about ? Surely there was a better name that could have been picked.

 Yes and the modules themselves need to be responsive as well so there are no gaps. In my responsive template for Dolphin Classic, the modules rearrange themselves to different positions instead of re-sizing like they should.

Oh lord, the cat's out of the bag......

It might be a good idea to let them get a little more done before we start screaming at them about stuff that needs fixin or needs to be added. This is a complete rewrite and I am quite sure much of the issues in 7.1 will be addressed at some level.

In other words, maybe we need to be patient until a little more info is available on what is actually being included....

Some clarification on the release timeline would help; if it is going to be another two years or so, then we are all kicking too soon LOL.

Dolphin U  =  Dolphin Unleashed ?

I think everyone may be jumping the gun here. Again, without knowing 'what' we can say, I will say this:

- Its already been said that Dolphin Classic (D7) and Dolphin U are 2 separate products

- This is a very early preview and will more than likely be altered in some way before a public release.

- Testing, discussions, and suggestions are limited/private to a specific group of developers/users here and still going on.

- A release date/month/year has not been mentioned

- D7 will not go away and will continue to be supported.

- Watch the blog posts for updates

So basically, even if we were able to give you details about Dolphin U, there is a good chance it may not apply by the time they decide to give a public 'preview'. So no need to give false hopes or expectations.

The one thing that Andrew did say in the comments to the blog announcement was the Mobile side was taking up half the work load for Dolphin U so I would think that it would be responsive given that these days that is pretty much a standard format.

To those that are in the loop, please convince Andrew that a better name is needed.

The live-action commercial is already in production. 'Tis a little late for that now, I'm afraid.

Like a commercial can not be pulled?  Perhaps if Andrew had let the community in on the naming, instead of a select few...  Then again, we have seen this before with Boonex.  We give support for Dolphin but get treated like the red-headed stepchild.

I will only say that  once Andrew has it in his head that something is a good idea, no amount of arguing will change his mind. It wouldn't matter if everyone on this site was arguing against something.

It's just a name... the end users won't care.

I second Zarcon. And for anybody thinking they'll wait until Dolphin U is out... don't. If Dolphin 7 works, use it. It'll be supported by BoonEx and developers alike for some time. You could be waiting for a year or more otherwise.

Time Zones, has this been addressed on per user account setting, or still server settings only, can any comment if this has been included as part of the core function.

 Wow! As long as that? You've pretty much convinced me to stay with Dolphin 7 now! That was pretty much the info I needed, had it been sooner I could have had a peep but I'm not hanging about that long. I've spent a lot on the modules on my site & many months designing it all how I want it & the announcement is made just as I am pretty much ready to go live.

That said, I noticed a similar thing was said in the announcement so are you implying that Dolphin 7 (Classic) will eventually be replaced by Dolphin U? It's the "for some time" bit that concerns me because that has been used on more than one occasion as though it will be retired at some point. The more I hear the more it is throwing up uncertainties for me as I want a site with a stable long term platform & not have to start again once I have started building up members. That sort of thing is acceptable for your CMS's of this world but when you're talking a Social Media Community you can't keep starting again & messing your members about!

For some time would most likely be years.

Boonex has announced that will be continuing to develop dolphin 7(classic). So they have no plans on retiring it any time soon.

 Okay thanks Deano. It's just that everything is so vague at the moment & so secretive it all appears a little disorganized right now. Andrew said in his announcement we could expect "The official launch itself is not far-off either, since we've decided to make it available starting from the first BETA." but now we are talking it could be a year off in this thread which in my book isn't any time soon. It appears there is so much contradiction & so much that needs clarifying.

This is the exact reason why I stopped designing Dolphin sites for a while as the direction of the products was just so unclear. With all other platforms you have a time frame, know when to expect it & what is being worked on & can be expected from the next release. Most have a work in progress nightly release & a stable release to work with. We are totally in the dark with Dolphin right now!

I don't mean to rant about this & sound negative & I know it's not your fault Deano but it's so damned frustrating when you don't know what to do with your site(s) for the best.

Keep in mind that Dolphin 7 was also 'just around the corner' for about a year and a half. If you're ready to launch, do it. You don't want to be stuck in an endless loop of chasing the next version.

Dolphin U is hush-hush because it's still very early in development. A bunch of stuff hasn't yet been implemented, and only a few select testers and developers are ready to use it. For developers, it's so they can prepare for the eventual release. General uses won't have much to do until the beta.