Omnicycles software, now free

1
Hello, my name is David Bolton, and I am new to this forum (though I have visited it on occasion). I've been an astrologer for many years, and am also the co-creator of Omnicycles software. We are now offering our program for free, so I thought it would be a nice little present for all of you who may wish to use it. Omnicycles does not give interpretations. Instead, we've been adding features such as alternative ways of viewing charts. Thus, it contains the Prime Vertical chart, the Horizon chart, the Meridian chart (which I believe is a first for astrology software), and a Zenith chart (one totally centered on your place of birth) that we feel is second to none. Of course, it also has a manual that gives basic explanations of each type of chart, and much more. Perhaps the most fascinating part of Omnicycles is that it will generate files which can then be converted into "Google Earth" format, so that you can see your chart projected onto the face of the Earth. And all of this free! You can download it at http://www.omnicycles.com/omnicycles.com.zip (no sign-up necessary: when you click the link, the .zip file will download into your standard download folder on your PC). If you wish, you can of course also visit our site first (http://www.omnicycles.com), though I haven't gotten around to adding descriptions of the new features on the site yet. Do not hesitate to write and send us your impressions, suggestions, bugs you may have found, etc. We are constantly developing Omnicycles, so any insights will be welcome!

The "Zenith Chart": One of many alternative views of the chart in Omnicycles...
Image
Co-creator of Omnicycles Software (now free!), designed to offer new ways of studying the chart. Download at: http://www.omnicycles.com/omnicycles.com.zip

3
No, Sir, Omnicycles is not "malware".. Yes, it can be uninstalled, like any other normal program (Control Panel/Programs and Features/Uninstall. Yes, it is set to open when Windows opens, HOWEVER; this can easily be disabled by entering "Task manager" in Windows, then "Startup", and then disabling Omnicycles. Give it a try! And rest assured that the program is in no way harmful. I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have, and I wish you a fine day... David Bolton
Co-creator of Omnicycles Software (now free!), designed to offer new ways of studying the chart. Download at: http://www.omnicycles.com/omnicycles.com.zip

4
Thanks for your suggestions, but I did all of those things. I tried to uninstall it three times, yet it still was the first program to run. To get rid of this irritating software l had to restore my system and other trustworthy applications.
Any software that can't be easily uninstalled by going through the control panel uninstall makes me question the motives of the originators.
If your software isn't malware, why did I have to remove it like malware?
You, or should I say your omnicycles has cost me about three hours of my time excising this cancer from my computer.
Just my negative experience. Others may may not have had the same result, but all should use caution IMO.
I cannot comment further or dialogue on the matter.

Omnicycles software

5
I thank you for your reply; it's a pity that you seem unwilling to comment any further, since it is by an exchange of ideas that practically any problem can be solved. Nonetheless, for the benefit of others here who have read these posts, I shall comment on your remarks.

1) We are not producers of "malware" of any kind. Indeed: both I, as well as my good friend and programmer, Juan Manuel Puertas, are reputable astrologers; we have been active in astrology for decades, and have authored a number of books on the subject. We would never even think of creating malware, since we find it highly unethical.

2) You say that even after uninstalling, Omnicycles ran anyway? Are you sure you completely uninstalled it? And did you try my suggestion of entering the Windows task manager, and removing it there from the "start" list?

3) If indeed you did remove it both from the control panel, as well as from the "Start" list, it would be beneficial to let me know, for we shall then remove it from one of our own PCs, taking every step you yourself did, to replicate the process, and discover any bugs in the program. Once again, I assure you that our code is clean, and contains no malware whatsoever.

4) After uninstalling: did you enter your programs folder, and check to see whether it was in fact uninstalled? if so: did you then erase the Omnicycles folder from the programs folder? if you did that, i would find it very difficult to believe that Omnicycles still started, since it would be GONE. Unless, of course, you installed it more than once, in different places on your PC: in that case, you may have deleted one installation, but not removed a second one that you may have inadvertently created.

5) Since you are so quick to label the program "malware": did you do a check of your PC with a program such as "malwarebytes"? That is always the logical step to take when malware is suspected. And if you did: what did malwarebytes report? I decided to do that with my PC right now. I have over 100 programs installed on my computer, and at least 5 are installations of Omnicycles. After a complete scan with malwarebytes, the results were: "Threats identified: 0", that is, NO malware whatsoever. Thus, I can only conclude that any malware you may have on your computer does NOT come from Omnicycles.

6) To anyone else who may have installed Omnicycles: may i ask a favor? Would, you, too, mind uninstalling it as I have suggested here, and then, after a restart, see if indeed the program still does start? And if so, let me know? The ONLY way I know that a program can still start after being (apparently) completely uninstalled is if it secretly creates some other files, in some place on the drive that the user would never suspect (malware!). Since Omnicycles was certainly NOT programmed to do such a thing, i simply find what this gentleman tells me hard to believe. Nevertheless, I will tell Juanma (the programmer) to completely uninstall it from his drive, and see if it truly has disappeared: I will then post again tomorrow, and let everyone know the result.

7) If you, Sir, decide to overcome your reticence to further posting, and to adopt a more cooperative stance, it will be welcome! Though, of course, if you feel that your experience has soured you to the point of not wanting to use Omnicycles ever again, fine. But that would be quite the exception, for there are many others who have been using Omnicycles for years, and who are quite happy with the program!

I wish you a fine day...

David Bolton
Co-creator of Omnicycles Software (now free!), designed to offer new ways of studying the chart. Download at: http://www.omnicycles.com/omnicycles.com.zip

6
Hi David,

as a fellow programmer myself I would only suggest to disable the auto-start by default as that seems to be what caused the most dissatisfaction to Arvind.

One should never assume that his program is so relevant to the user to the point of auto-starting on each reboot. As a data point, I use my web browser every single day but would not tolerate that it started automatically on reboot.

Regards,
Jo?o Ventura

7
That's a good idea Joao: thanks for the tip! Since we are constantly installing, whenever we make some improvements in the program, we have it set that way, and we know others who like it that way, since they look at their constellations every day. But since some may not like it, I think I will deactivate the automatic startup. Though I still can't understand why the gentleman said Omnicycles would startup and run even after uninstalling it. I have never seen such a thing, and can't think of how that could ever be. Oh well... if he writes again, I'll be glad to help try to clear things up.

Once again, thanks for your suggestion, and have a nice day!

David
Co-creator of Omnicycles Software (now free!), designed to offer new ways of studying the chart. Download at: http://www.omnicycles.com/omnicycles.com.zip

Omnicycles uninstall bug fixed

8
Hello all,

Well, I must thank Mr. Arvind. It seems he did indeed find a bug with Omnicycles! No, of course the program is not malware, as I said in a previous post. BUT...my partner and I were testing it, and it seems that in truth, it does not uninstall as it should. It seems that the program we were using to create the installation file was flawed, and did not uninstall as it should have. Thus, we acquired a new installation program, and are now using that. Testing has shown that now, Omnicycles will uninstall without any problem. In addition, we removed the "automatic startup" setting, so that Omnicycles will not open when you start up your PC. (But of course, you can click the shortcut on the desktop to start the program, and may also place a shortcut in the Windows "Start" folder, should you indeed want Omnicycles to open when you start your PC.)

My apologies to Mr. Arvind for the inconvenience he experienced, and once again, my thanks for discovering this error. As always, we investigate such "bugs" as quickly as possible, in order to correct them at once.

The new, corrected version has been uploaded, and may be downloaded using the same link: http://www.omnicycles.com/omnicycles.com.zip

I wish everyone a pleasant day!
Co-creator of Omnicycles Software (now free!), designed to offer new ways of studying the chart. Download at: http://www.omnicycles.com/omnicycles.com.zip

An update...

9
After restoring my Windows 10, I was still having problems after the install of omnicycles. So I had to go to a computer tech. I dropped off my laptop in the morning, his voice mail to me after lunch started off like this... "WTF did they code to f**k your 'puter up so much..."

So it now having to be wiped with a clean and virgin install of everything.

Thanks Omnicycles... you suck!

A.

10
I can only say that your story is truly strange. I have had Omnicycles on my computer for years, as has the programmer, and many other people, and I have NEVER heard from ANYONE that it had a malicious effect on their system.

But to give you the benefit of the doubt: What exactly were the problems you encountered after restoring Windows 10? what EXACTLY did your technician say was the cause? In other words: what concrete evidence is there that it was Omnicycles, and not something else on your PC that caused the problem? And how EXACTLY was your system "F..... up", as your expert so eloquently put it?

If I were suspicious minded, I might begin to suspect that perhaps you yourself sell software, and are peeved that we are giving away a quality program for free, and that you therefore have an interest in "trashing" it.

Not wanting to think ill of anyone, however, I shall only ask for precise details of what the technician found, and how those details relate to Omnicycles. For as I said, we have, since the program's creation in 2004, NEVER had any complaints of this nature, for which reason I can only assume that your PC problems lie not with Omnicycles, but with something else.

I wish you a calm, collected, and PC-problem-free weekend!
Co-creator of Omnicycles Software (now free!), designed to offer new ways of studying the chart. Download at: http://www.omnicycles.com/omnicycles.com.zip

11
My sympathy to you David Bolton. Many people just don't seem to realize just what an undertaking software development is. Not everyone can do it. Customer expectations can become unreasonable and some assume malice on the programmers part (largely because of the bad rep of hackers having tainted the field with their 100 line joke code and thinking they're technically sophisticated for writing malware). It's a fundamental truth that it's many times easier to destroy than to create. Good luck to you.
Curtis Manwaring
Zoidiasoft Technologies, LLC

12
It's been my observation that newcomers to astrology software development often get high praise. As their programs get more sophisticated, they start getting more criticism but at this stage the programmer wonders if this can be done full time. This is usually when one starts raising prices to compensate for all the time consumed. If you quit your job and do this full time, you then start to deal with complaints on a daily basis. At the end of the software development life cycle usage ceases and nobody remembers you. I've seen this happen to a number of astrology software developers over the years. A few were smart enough to stop financially investing in it before they really got started. The rest of us do it because it's what we do and would do it anyway.

Judging from the level of criticism you've received in this thread, you must be a master developer.
Curtis Manwaring
Zoidiasoft Technologies, LLC