Faast News

News and Information for Present Faast Users

This is the Faast news page, updated December, 2006.

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Prices for Trade-ups and Update & Support Service ...

Update and Support Service prices are:
  $ 199.00  for PC users who were on support during prior year
  $ 299.00  for PC users who were not on support in prior year, 
  $ 299.00  for VAX and Sun users on support during prior year, and
  $ 399.00  for VAX and Sun users NOT on support during prior year.
Prices shown are for prepaid and credit card orders. The support service provides you with Reference Manual updates, priority user support, and validation to download and use current releases of Faast.


If your copy of Faast is Up-to-Date ...
... then Year 2000 is "No Problem" ! ...

Many years ago (starting in 1996), we installed century adjusting logic in versions of Faast-3 for various computers, so that Faast would operate past 1999 without any problems. All current releases (see list below) execute correctly over the century boundary, up to at least the year 2080.

We DO NOT guarantee that releases of Faast-II, nor releases of Faast-3 which are older than release 3.3F, will report correct years past 1999. You are reminded to order a trade-up or the Update and Support Service to make sure that your copy of Faast is up-to-date.

By the way ... At Faast, we don't call it "Y2k" for the simple reason (obvious to all computer nerds) that in computer jargon "k" stands for 1024 (a power of 2), not 1000, hence to us propeller heads, "Y2k" means the year 2,048. In computer jargon, the year 2,000 would be "Y7d0" (hexadecimal) or "Y3720" (octal), or for binary purists: "Y011111010000".


Internet Down-loading of Update Releases ...

Update release kits are now delivered by internet. Distribution of updates involves both an executable program file kit, which is the same for all users (and which you may freely download when you need it), plus a license validation file, which is custom-produced by us for you and sent directly to you by email (preferred) or by disk if email delivery is not available. You may add features by ordering a revised license validation file.


Revised Reference Manual Chapter 9 ...

Chapter 9 of the Faast-3 Reference Manual has been revised to incorporate those features developed since the original edition. Manual Addenda #2, #3, and #5 have been incorporated into Chapter 9, and are no longer provided to users. Copies of the revised Chapter 9, in the form of Manual Revision E, have been provided to all users who have releases of Faast-3, 3.3D and later. Other chapters, when revised, will be sent out to those users who are on support at that time.


Reference Manual Addenda on Internet ...

Reference Manual Addenda and Errata Sheets are posted on our internet web page so that you may read and/or print any of them at any time. Current titles are ...
  Addendum #1 Memory Management on PCs 
  Addendum #4 DUMP Command 
  Addendum #6 Faast-3 File Paths and Command Line Switches.
  Errata # 1 Errors in Formulas, Appendix N, Application Notes 2 & 3 . 
Manual Addenda #7 & #8 (covering Multiple Fluids and Time-of-Transport) will be added for release 3.4 when released.


Running Faast-3 on Windows ...

We provide some auxiliary files that let you run Faast-3 from a Windows program icon by a simple mouse click. These files are now part of the standard update release kits. The windows installation files for Faast-3 have been tested on MS-Windows-3.x, -95/98, -NT 4 (for PC workstations), and -XP (also known as NT5).

All PC versions of Faast-3 work with Windows, with the exception that a separate Faast-3 executable ".EXE" program file and a different ".PIF" file are required for Windows NT4. These will be found in a separate kit on the Faast.com web page.


Current Releases ...

Current Faast-3 releases for various systems are:
PC computers, including PC/Ms-DOS, Win-3x,-95/98/XP except Win-NT4   3.3L 
PC computers, Win-NT4, including PC/Ms-DOS, Win-3, -95/98/XP         3.3M 
SUN Sparc, including Sun OS 4.1.3 and Solaris 2.x, X-Window          3.3L 
Digital VAX, using VMS operating system                              3.3J

As always, we will be happy to discuss creating a version of Faast for a computer not in the above list. There is a whole stable of unix workstations which are largely compatible with each other and usually support the X-11 window system. If you use a unix workstation, or some other computer not mentioned above, feel free to contact us about creating a version for your system.


Multi-fluids and Time-of-Travel Features in Release 3.4 ...

Release 3.4 is partly operational but not ready for user testing. It has two major features:

1. One new feature is the provision for multiple fluids with user-defined properties. Each node will, if desired, be able to have its own values for fluid properties including density and viscosity.

This feature is important to the fields of industrial and marine piping, as well as natural gas and compressed air piping, where fluids such as fuel oil, lube oil, and compressed gasses experience significant changes in density and/or viscosity at various places within the system. You will be able to define (and change) the properties of any number of fluids, then assign those fluids to various nodes in the system. Nodes not explicitly assigned a fluid will have the properties of the standard fluid (which may also be changed just as it may be changed presently).

2. Another new feature is "time-of-travel" calculations, with display and printout, as part of the optional Print/Show Fractions (flow tracing and Water Quality) module in release 3.4. This feature will calculate and display minimum, mean, and maximum times for fluid to travel to a given point in the system from each source that contributes to that point.


Ordering the Update and Support Service ...

Paid-up Licensees may receive a current license validation file by ordering the Update and Support Service by email. You will receive a copy of any documentation updates, and a license validation file good for updates issued during the entire year. You may then download update kits (current releases and subsequent) at any time during the year. Your license validation file will work with any earlier release, but will not work with updates downloaded after the validation year of your license unless re-validated for later update years.

Users without internet capability may request updates to be sent by disk.

Rental users receive a current license validation file every time they renew their rental contracts, and may download curent update kits at any time.

Licensed users who need a trade-up from Faast-II, or need to add features or go to larger problem capacity may also order by fax or email.

See the Trade-up, Update and Support Price List below

  Faast-3 2007 Trade-up, Update and Support Prepaid Prices, PC Systems 

Trade-up Faast-II -PCS or -PCL (with Faast/Plot) to Faast-3   $  299. 
Trade-up Faast-II -PCS or -PCL (without FPL) to Faast-3          399. 
Trade-up Faast-II -PCE & Faast/Plot  to Faast-3                  349. 
Trade-up Faast-II -PCE (without FPL) to Faast-3                  449. 

Trade-up Faast-3  -PCS to -PCL                                   373.
                 -PCL to -PCE                                    607.
                 -PCE to -PCM                                   1013.
                 -PCM to -PCJ                                   1431.

Add "Fittings Loss Factors" module (-PCS and -PCL only)          313.
Add "Fittings Loss Factors" module (-PCE and larger)        no charge 
Add Water Quality "Print Fractions" module                       313. 
Additional User Manuals                                           60.

Annual Update and Support Service for PCs ...
     (included with any of the above Trade-up offers)      
for PC users who were on support during prior year               199.
for PC users who were NOT on support in prior year               299.
for VAX and Sun users.                                           499.
Notes:
--------
1. The prices shown above INCLUDE the 15% discount for prepaid orders, "bill-to" orders are 18% higher.
2. Sun and Vax users, request prices for your systems.
3. Orders from, or shipped to locations in California must add sales tax appropriate to the shipping destination.
4. Order by email by including a valid Discover, or American Express
charge number, with holder's name and expiration date.
5. Order by mail by enclosing check or charge card information as above.



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Copyright (c) 2006 Faast Software. All rights Reserved.