ZOA Consulting now has a web site

Software updates now available on-line

November 1, 1997 -- In an effort to continue to provide the best possible service, ZOA Consulting has created a web site devoted specifically to STARS users. If you're reading this page, then congratulations! You've found the STARS site at http://www.zoa.com.

Our two most common customer calls are from satisfied users asking how they can get the latest release of our software and from potential users requesting 90-day free trial copies.

Since 1993, we have handled all these requests in the traditional manner by putting a diskette, a manual and a cover letter in an envelope and walking down the street to our local post office. The US Postal Service has handled about 4000 of these packages for us ... and they've only lost about 200.

The printed manuals and diskettes will still be available, particularly for new software purchases. However, we plan to refer our web-capable customers to this web site for faster and more reliable upgrades.

Download upgrades as often as you like

If your command has purchased STARS for DOS or STARS for Windows (both of which are sold under multi-user, site licenses based on UIC), then you are entitled to free upgrades for your product. Every upgrade is always backwards compatible with all previous versions. This means that when you install a new version, your existing data will be carried forward into new data formats and file structures.

Remember to always backup your data before upgrading your software.

News, feedback and support, too

This web site is also designed to be your main gateway for getting news about STARS, providing feedback, receiving support and reading the answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

The news releases -- which you're reading right now -- will be used to provide information about new versions of our products and timetables for delivery of new products, particularly STARS for Windows.

Many of the features and capabilities that you find in STARS have been added in response to requests from users. If you've got an idea for a change or enhancement to STARS that would make our product more useful to you and to others, please let us know via the feedback page.

If you're encountering problems using STARS, consult the FAQs or send us a message via the support page.

A user forum for STARS users

At this time, there are more than 200 US Navy commands using STARS and an estimated 5,000 users.

The STARS user forum will be a web page where you can post your thoughts, suggestions, ideas and comments about STARS so that others may read them.

For example, if you've developed a way to use STARS for a purpose no one else may have tried, please post your discovery. Or if you have ideas about how to make the best use of your local or regional crime statistics, please let share your ideas with others.

We're hoping that this forum will serve the purpose of an ongoing electronic conference to discuss security matters, not limited to STARS. If you would like to post any matters involving security issues, crime reporting and statistics or computers in the Navy, etc. please feel free to post your thoughts or ideas.