The major change in this release was originally planned for version 6.3 but as I felt it’s too good to hold back any longer and too small to warrant a new version release on its own, I decided to take the most visual part of it and apply it on the 6.2 version. The rest will come in the next version, which will probably be called 6.3 but may as well be 6.5 - I don't know yet and it's not imminent.

The big change this time is how to Name, Search & Select a chart and with this change I have gone back a little bit like it was in Version 5, but with much more finesse and control. What I liked there was that you could search for a chart from the same field as the chart name was displayed in, but I disliked the fact that you had very little control over it. As when you wanted to start a new chart it always started a search to see if a chart with the given name there already existed etc. Still you had to go somewhere else to explicitly select a chart.

While the change in 6.0, and with some refinement in 6.2, didn’t really change that it gave more control but I wasn’t really satisfied as I wanted to have it all in one place. But the tools available to me at the time didn’t allow for it, not until now!  All in one place, 3 in 1 functionality that displays the current charts name and at the same time allows you to search for charts without interrupting the display function. On top of that you can also drop the list and pick a chart from the currently active group.

That list by the way doesn’t just serve charts from the active group any longer. When you make a search and it returns more than 1 chart they temporary take over the list and is presented to you in great detail so you will have no problem to distinguish them, even if same name. You also have control over how temporary that will be and you can work with these charts until you do one of several actions that reset the search and restore the active group list.

There are few more small adjustments to the Data Entry for that I won’t get in to here, but it’s documented in both the What’s New and Quick Start Guide documents, and the program help system of course. Below you can have a quick view though, before:

And how it looks now:

As you may notice a few things have moved around a bit and among other things I believe I finally found the right place for the Huber option switch. For a brief summary of all changes read the change log, it doesn’t make justice though to how much work has gone in to this release.

As a current user of 6.2 you can now download this update for free from your customer area, and if you rather prefer to have it on CD I will try to have a simple way to order it up at the same place soon. Of course, as usual there is nothing to force you to update but as hinted initially as a Cancer I don’t only enjoy the cooking, but I also want it to, try to make it, taste great and want others to enjoy it too!

As for Trial version, there will be a new one soon Update: there is now one based on this release and as I consider this to be a significant improvement it will also reset the trial counter so even if your current trial has expired this one will give you 30 days anew.

So enjoy,

Joakim Schramm
Astrocalc

I don’t need to connect this with the Mayans though, because I have astrology, in my view another facet of the same cosmic epos. So I know that on Dec 21^st 2012 the Winter Solstice will take place and that it coincides with a planetary pattern called Yod, also known by its popular name “God’s finger”.  Without doubt do I also believe the involved planets Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto fit perfectly into this drama. To me, the “finger” clearly points at the fact that life is cyclical, not linear, and we need to have faith in that when something comes to an end it’s also a beginning of something new. I strongly suspect the same is true for the Mayan calendar and the interpretation of the creation myth behind all this. So if the world comes to an end “as we know it” by December 21st 2012, it can’t be anything but a good thing and I’m really looking forward to it!

However, before we get there I would like to “close down” 2011 with a “thank you” to all supportive Astrocalc users. It has been something of a mixed year with both ups and downs but also progress. No doubt, this is a tough time for many of us with the world more or less on its knees burdened by dept.  One thought that keeps buzzing in my head is “to whom?” and I don’t know if it can be the answer, but some weeks ago I came across an online blog post with the amazing title “Are Aliens Buying Louis Vuitton Handbags? - World Exports $338Bn More Than It Imports”.  Apparently, according to IMF’s Word Economic Outlook data the world exported some $300 Billion more than it imported in 2010, all due to “statistical errors” the same source concludes and by 2014 this sum will increase to about $700 Billion. Statistical error or not, it smells “above the head of humanity” to me, a lot.

Meanwhile life on Earth continues to be tough for most people, as we all proceed into the future of 2012 and eventually we will meet up with that moment when “God’s finger” is pointing towards the planet. It may not always be funny but sure promises to be an interesting time. While there are many fear mongers out there causing unease, I personally believe this period offers great opportunity for spirit, soul and mind to tune with each other in preparation for what may be the next step in humanity’s evolution.  I think, it won’t come without effort, though and maybe we have to give up something on the way to give place for a new beginning.

Anyway, I like to conclude this New Year post by saying a few words about me and Astrocalc. The past year or so my mind has slowly advanced towards some conclusions about the future, not only involving myself but also regarding Astrocalc. It has literally been a process that started already at the Winter Solstice more than a year ago and has since matured to find its final shape.

As it’s somewhat difficult to put the whole of my process into words I will simply stay with the conclusion. I think that now more than ever in modern time astrology can be at service to mankind and that we who “have” it need to share and give of it to those who haven’t got it. That’s why, among other things I decided as a first step to permanently lower the price of all Astrocalc programs with 30-40%, to make it affordable to anyone who really wants to work with astrology using a professional tool.

I have also done some dramatic changes to our upgrade policy and I would recommend you to read about it on the site’s support pages. It’s basically about cleaning up some of the Astrocalc legacy and to bring order in the multiplicity of old updatable programs out there. The new system brings clearly defined rules when it comes to upgrades and who they will be priced. As usual there is seldom a “one fits all” solution that works and makes everyone happy but I think this is as close as one can come.

Furthermore, I am also working on a new edition, not version, which I intend to release as freeware, as in free software. It will be something of a Personal Edition but I don’t know yet if that will be the final name. I don’t like to reveal too many details now as I’m also working on a new website to go with it and details will come out in due time. It should be said though that it will not compete with the other editions in any way. It’s not for astrologers if I say so, but more for exploring oneself through astrology and one’s place in the world. I’m trying to do something different, giving of what I have to give. I hope, once it comes to life, it will appeal to at least some old Astrocalc users wishing to jump onboard contributing to make it a joyride, beyond Dec 21^st 2012, in to what perhaps turn out to be The Age of Aquarius?

And with that I would like to wish you a good ending and a prosperous 2012

Yours sincerely,

Joakim Schramm
Astrocalc Software

You can install the trial version independently of any older version of Astrocalc and everything you produce like charts or text, and changed settings remains and will be available when you install the purchased version. It will automatically uninstall the trial version, but leave charts, texts and settings etc. intact.

This version will reset the previous trial of 6.2.0.44 and we have also placed the download on an external download service to increase accessability.

Download Astrocalc 6.2 Trial version - (approx. 22MB) External link

The trial version is based on release 6.2.0.45 <-- Updated 22/22 2012

However, this release marks an important step in more than one way because it will also be the first Astrocalc release that also has a trial version so anyone can test the program before making the decision to buy it or not. The triil version download will be announced separately though. Furthermore does this release include an almost 100% Unicode 3.0 compatibility implementation. This is however more for the future as we prepare and pave the way for translations of the program into other than Germanic languages. The first of these will probably a Czech version of Astrocalc.

Otherwise you don't see much of it now in the program itself, except for when you browse the Atlas and look at places from one of the countries using non Germanic characters. Instead, the big change is when you use the program and e.g. you need to make a chart for a person whose name contains any of those fancy characters, provided that your keyboard has support for it of course.

What's been fixed/added in this release can in more detail be seen in the change log and while the list is longer than for most releases, it's mostly small things and a result of that the program constantly is worked on. As said above, if you are happy with your Astrocalc in your ordinary usage and nothing specific in the list concerns you, this is not one of the 'important' updates in that sense. But if you like to follow Astrocalc on the edge, please go ahead, download, install and enjoy.

Important! If you also have any of Astrogeography, Starword or Transits Forecaster, you need to update these as well for the Atlas manager to display correctly. This is because of the Unicode implementation and hence compatibility releases of these programs have been done. Otherwise there are no changes.

Important (2)! When you install an update, never do an uninstall first, if that's needed the setup program will take care of it.

If you already have purchased Transit Forecaster 6.2 you will find this release ready to download in your customer area. If you also have Astrocalc 6.2 and install this version after Astrocalc 6.2.0.42 it will also take advantage of this slight atlas improvement.

If you already have purchased Transit Forecaster 6.2 you will find this release ready to download in your customer area. If you also have Astrocalc 6.2 and install this version after Astrocalc 6.2.0.42 it will also take advantage of this slight atlas improvement.

Just as with UK itself, there is an origin and history behind these atlas changes.  The old atlas had a flat structure and basically consisted of a set of text files, with no ability to index the data or use it relationally in an effective way. When we created the 1st version of the new atlas all data moved in to a database file allowing for indexing and relational linking of the data.

The said change created however a problem with UK places as in the original atlas they were all kept in the same file, without a clear affiliation to their real country. While other countries had one label pointing to a unique identifier used by places belonging to it, UK had several, one for each country, Crown Dependency or overseas territory, all pointing to the same identifier used by all places in the set. So according to it, Glasgow could be located in England or even on Isle of Man!

So once again an Englishman can be an Englishman and a Scot a Scot and happily coexist, side by side. The Astrocalc part of this history is though a bit less bloody than the geographical origin it tries to map.

Further improvements in this release regards more work on scaling of the screen, mainly for large and oddly sized monitors and their standard screen resolutions, often only seen on certain brands of notebooks. Also the value that controls the roundness of the wheel circle has been renamed from ‘Chart Aspect Ratio’ to more understandable ‘Roundness of circle’ and it was also moved from the settings menu (as you typically only change this once if ever) to the Chart Design form.

The Chart Design form, apart from some further polishing and visual improvements, is now also available from the Chart Wheel form. Likewise was the quick start and what’s new document updated to better reflect changes since initial release of version 6.2.

After the release unfortunately a small issue was found, pretty trivial and not really a bug, but I want to mention it here as it can cause a chart to come out wrong. When you add a new place to the atlas you are also supposed to set a time zone and you do this by clicking on another already present place located nearby. The issue is that we forgot to add a check that the time zone really was set, so if you don’t this value will stay at 0, which will result in that the zone value will be calculated out of position of Longitude, so called Local Time, which was used before time zones were introduced across the globe.  All other values when adding a new place are checked for sanity, so just don’t forget to set the time zone as well.

Apart from that I think this is a very fine release I feel absolutely satisfied with, and I hope you will be too. Enjoy.

Kind regards,

Joakim Schramm
Astrocalc Software

The major improvement in this release is the introduction of a completely new Atlas component with a much improved Atlas Manager. The previous atlas had a very fixed format and was difficult to edit and maintain even for us. In this new format all that changes and it's our own product all the way, except for the database engine used. Hence, it will now be much easier for us to keep up with and implement changes in DST (Daylight Saving Time) as governments around the world decide about it, and they do... Ukraine just abolished DST all together and it's in the latest atlas.

In the previous atlas it was already possible to edit co-ordinates and add your own new places, but after an update it was all gone. Furthermore, you could not decide about time zone for your newly added place, if the country had more than one. All that is now history, even if this update still will wipe all changes and additions you have done to the atlas. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about that and you have to reapply them, a last time. But starting with this release, changes in the atlas will now be permanent and survive an upgrade of as well the program and the atlas.

You still can't change the time zone for original places though and we intend to keep it that way as it makes sense. However, if you do suspect a time zone for a place to be darn wrong - please don't hesitate to contact us about it!

Selecting the time zone for your new place couldn't be easier and more intuitive as you don't even need to know what it is, and in many cases you probably won't. All you need to know is the name of a reasonably big place near to your new one, already available in the atlas - and click on it and that's it!

This release comes with many small improvements of which some are visible others not, and is the result of a constantly ongoing review of the Astrocalc code base and somewhat hard to describe, but a few other improvements in this release are worth mentioning.

With the new atlas comes the ability to select and store up to 10 places that will be available to quickly paste in to the input fields where ever a place is needed. The first of these 10 slots is defined as 'Default Place' and replaces what previously was called 'Current Location'. This place can be used by automation at some places like when doing a Now chart or a New chart. The places have to be set in the Atlas Manager, and you then access them either by selecting from a drop down list control or from a Ctrl+n short key combination, in other words by holding down the Ctrl and then press any of the 0 to 9 numeric keys.

This release can now be installed in 8 different languages, English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Spanish, Dutch, French and Italian. There is a BUT here though, and that is that all of these languages are not 100% complete. To some it may appear strange or even 'unprofessional' to do this in commercial software... However, I don't see it that way... In my view, if Pedro isn't that comfortable with English, the program is probably more usable to him if 80% (or even 60%) is in Spanish (although in this case it maybe is more like 90-95%). After all this isn't a beauty contest, it's about astrology! Anyone in disagreement with this can simply install in English or Swedish, which is the two 100% languages (German about 98%) currently available. I hope this will make the program usable to more people though and that's the sole purpose of this move.

For current users of Astrocalc 6.2, to update you simply log in to your customer area and download the Setup file, save it to your downloads folder and then run the file to install on top of your current installation of Astrocalc. You should not uninstall your old version before installing the new one, unless you are told to do so by Support.

And I hope you will enjoy this latest release of Astrocalc

With best regards

Joakim Schramm
Astrocalc Software

Update [30/9/2011]: Due to work with latest release of Astrocalc and private issues I haven't had much time left for this event, but hope to return looking at it again soon as possible as I do find it interesting.

This is a minor release that fixes 2 issue and also inlude the latest world time zone corrections, involving changes decided about  resently concerning Russia, Egypt and Samoa Islands. You can see a full change log by clicking the version number in the sidebar box for Current Releases.

To update you simply download the Setup file from your customer area, save it to your downloads folder and then run the file to install on top of your current installation of Astrocalc. You should not uninstall your old version before installing the new one, unless you are told to do so by Support.

/Joakim Schramm

Astrocalc Software

You may notice the listed release date is a bit earlier than this post, it's because it was ready at that time and since been delivered to customers but I usually wait about 2 weeks before a public announcement, just in case something major shows up that prompt urgent changes

/Joakim Schramm

Astrocalc Software

Apart from this both Setup and executable program now is digitally signed with my personal certificate from Comodo. Although the changes in this release are small they are significant and you are recommended to update your current version.

You may notice the listed release date is a bit earlier than this post, it's because it was ready at that time and since been delivered to customers but I usually wait about 2 weeks before a public announcement, just in case something major shows up that prompt urgent changes

/Joakim Schramm

Astrocalc Software

The releases have been quite frequent lately and it may rise concerns, but I like to stress that all software has bugs and where many tend to accumulate there fixes and release more seldom our policy is that if something is found and reported, we try to fix it and release as soon as possible, not only to the reporters avail but to all users.  Usually there is no need to go for every released update, especially if your program is functioning to your satisfaction - but of course with few exceptions the latest release is always a little bit better than the previous one.

/Joakim Schramm

Astrocalc Software

 However, as I constantly work on improving the program this release also include what I have been working on and completed the past weeks. This mainly include one small issue related to Houses and Non-Natal routines and some nice improvements to the Synastry module, and as always am I keeping my eyes open for general improvements of the code, which many time are things you never see but makes the program run more efficient and stable. The need for this origin from the amazing fact that Astrocalc is a software project that still is alive and kicking after 30 years!

A shot summary of the changes in this version:

+ Improved the selection and data entry procedure for Derived Composite in the Synastry module.
* Some Non-Natal routines used Equal Houses unless a Natal Wheel was displayed first.
* The options dialog used with Transits and some other places didn't have the support for Windows Styles properly implemented.
* Minor adjustments and improvements.

• When opening the menu for interpretation in Synastry form the program could crash.

• The usage implementation of purshased interpretation text didn't work properly for Non English text.

This is a free update to all user that already have purchased Astrocalc 6.2 and is now available for download after login to your customer account. In most cases you only need to download and install the Setup file, however if your license include non english text files you should also download and install the License file, which has been updated in such case.

We recommend everybody to take advantage of the free update and bring your version of Astrocalc up to date. If you don't know your password you can use the "Forgot your password?" link on the login page to have a new one sent to you. Just click the link, type in the email address you would use for login and click the Submit button.

If you still have problems and can't get it to work, plase use the Contact form to let us know about your problem.

I merged the two sites www.astrocalc.com and www.astrocalc.co.uk  to become one. At the time I originally rebuilt the site based on the new framework I thought it to be a good idea to have 2 sites, www.astrocalc.com and www.astrocalc.co.uk, one for the Euro and one for Sterling. I have now changed my mind and decided for one site and one currency only, because it simply makes things so much easier.  Hence, I will no longer set prices in Euro, but only in Pound Sterling.

This shouldn’t be confused with the fact that you actually can make a selection on the site to see prices in other currencies also including the Euro, but these prices are just recalculated estimates based on a mid-market exchange rate and should only be seen as an approximate.

Before I started to work on the web site at the beginning of this summer I did some good work on Astrocalc  6.2 tying up some loose end to improve stability, foremost on Vista and Seven. I have also introduced Multi-Language capabilities and for the moment it mean can choose between English, Swedish and German when installing the program. Furthermore, it now also have true support for multi-language interpretation text files and a whole lot of improvements were done to the management of text files.

 The big happening for me personally though is that I upgraded my own work computer to finally leave XP behind to welcome Windows 7 and I must say I’m very pleased with that change. This doesn’t mean support for XP will end in any way, not yet for some years I believe, but the future is of course with the latest version of Windows.

Here I also would like to remind everyone who already have upgraded to Astrocalc 6.2 about your privilege of free updates. All software have bugs and Astrocalc is no exception, unfortunately, and I must say so far they have been relatively few despite the magnitude of structural changes that were done in comparison with the previous version (6.0). Still these small updates are not only about fixing bug, I like to refine things and hence the current version also gets a little better and better day by day. So you should really use that privilege and all you have to do is to log in to find the download right in front of your eyes.

Just a few words about other older programs that earlier were available from Astrocalc, I’m talking about Horacalc, Chartmaster, Biorythms, Numerology, Tutorials etc. I like to be honest to you about those programs, I have started working on to convert them to work the newer versions of Windows, but these are old programs, with old code and not exactly a dream for a programmer of today. Let’s just say they did things differently back then either because they had to or because they were taught to and I think I have stayed away from stepping on anyone’s toes. In case you wonder, yes Astrocalc comes down along that path too as the very first release happened well beyond 20 years ago, but in difference to most other old programs Astrocalc has received much more love and care over the years leaving it somewhat better of entering into the modern era of Windows.

A license is "active" for 1 year after purchase of full or upgrade version, during which it allow for free download of latest released version. After 1 year the license turn "passive", which mean it still works to run the current version of the time but no further download of updates. A passve license can be renewed tomake active again for another year.

A license is "active" for 1 year after purchase of full or upgrade version, during which it allow for free download of latest released version. After 1 year the license turn "passive", which mean it still works to run the current version of the time but no further download of updates. A passve license can be renewed tomake active again for another year.

For a software product that's quite a respectable age and the fact it's still able to run on many of the modern Windows systems is a mark of quality in itself, a quality that served many users over the years. But nothing can change the fact that the technology under the hood is vastly outdated and all good things come to an end. It’s been a “good buy” but now it’s time to say goodbye. However, the quality of Astrocalc lives on in the new versions.

Also, with Colin no longer in office (retired) we can no longer provide good support for these outdated programs - no one knows them as he does. Hence, starting 20 January 2010, the day version 5.6 will be 8 years, the only support we can offer you for these programs is to upgrade and to assist you when you do. We will continue to give an upgrade discount on them but the amount will decrease as time passes by.

Astrocalc 6.2, and other programs in the 6.2 range, will also be the last version to offers backward compatibility with version 5.x and earlier versions. In practice this means retaining settings and data during installation, options which may not be available in future versions.

Installation of version 6.2 works seamlessly with version 6.0 in respect of retaining data and settings. With version 5.x it will convert the full set of text and client files though perhaps not all of the settings (but important things like orbs). With still older versions, including DOS, only the client files will be retained.

As well as improving Vista and Windows 7 compatibility there has been a major overhaul of the Setup program and start up procedure, furthermore several sub systems have been updated to increase program stability.

The problem with the Famous chart set has now been fixed and after a fresh install or upgrade the Famous set (aka Group) will be installed together with a further 300 charts. If you already have 6.2 installed you now have the option to import the Famous set  - it's a 1 click action.

Upgrading from versions prior to 6.0 is now easier than ever - you only need to have your old version in place or a copy in cases where you are transferring from an old to a new computer. Due to the age as well as the odd and irregular file format, for versions before 5.0 only client files (if present) are picked up when upgrading, while for the 5.x range most but not all settings data, all text files and client files are picked up.

If you have version 6.0 and want to retain your existing data and settings then you should NOT uninstall it before installing 6.2. But you can do a fresh install if you want.

However, it should be stressed that there is no need or demand for your old version to be present when upgrading, it's solely for the purpose of retaining old data, if wanted. When upgrading a fresh full version always is delivered, either on CD or by Download, but you get it for a discounted price.

In the case with Astrocalc, which also often is the case with false positives, it's triggered by cryptographic code that the program contains. This code is a part of the programs protection system and is there to prevent that the program is tampered with in the first place and in fact, if a virus or trojan infection would occur the program would crash immediately and refuses to run at all!

Sometimes virus makers also "protect" their viruses with such cryptographic code which makes it extra hard for the antivirus program and most of the free antivirus programs takes a lazy route and simply flag all such entities as containing a "generic trojan or virus", just to be on the sure side and when complaining they simply refer to their non free version ;-)

Bottom line, you can be absolutely sure that no virus or trojan is shipped with any Astrocalc software and if that still would happen we would announce the incident immediately. The risk that would happen though is slim to almost non as I run a very tight system here and would be the first to notice if something was wrong.

Joakim Schramm
Astrocalc Software

Not surprisingly this is right now the No.1 top issue people has with the new Astrocalc 6.2 release, which basically just confirms what's said above. The remedy is close though and available on every (Windows) computer and is called Windows Update. Microsoft continuously releases so called "hot fixes" to correct functional as well as security problems, now and then they also sum up all this plus a bit more in a so called Service Pack (SP). All this is available from http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com and it's a good practice to keep your computer up to date and you can in fact tell Windows to look after this for you. For Vista SP2 currently is the latest while for XP it's SP3, running anything less is per definition insecure, and it could even be possible to argue that it's irresponsible as well.

Now this is not the only reason why Astrocalc demands you to have the latest SP installed. It also makes sense because the released version has been tested on Windows with the latest updates at the time. Conclusively, we cannot guarantee functionality on earlier, possibly defect, versions of Windows and why should I waste my time on possible (support) problems that may be solved by the Service Pack? That time is much better spent, benefiting all, developing new features and improvements on the software, don't you agree?

So the reason not to support earlier Service Pack versions can be summed up in these points:

1. It has not been tested for it.
2. It may function differently or there might exist a bug that made Astrocalc malfunction or not function at all.
3. by using an old service pack version of Windows you are not only a security risk to your own computer but also to others as many of the "Virus pandemics" online is due to people running old and unsecure versions of Windows, which  support the pandemic to spread.

On the Astrocalc support issue you might say "But I have not had any problem like this to install other software?" and there exists a rather simple answer to that. The latest Service Packs for XP and Vista were released relatively recently so the other software likely think your current SP is the latest, as it cannot know differently. Then there are of course those who practice a more "loose" policy but for the above state reasons Astrocalc Software is not one of these. It may "sell" better or whatever reasons they can have, I don't know. Maybe they just don't care...

So what you need to do is simply to visit Windows Update and bring your computer up to date by downloading and install the latest Service Pack. This may seem inconvenient but it's not only for your but everybody's best.

Joakim Schramm

Astrocalc Software

The last years happenings have teached me it's good to take a break now and then, not only from work but from Internet and computers as well. I will practice that wisdom now for a couple of days...

Joakim

When ordering Astrocalc in our shop it will now be for version 6.2 even if it still say 6.0. However, if you also order other programs like Starword, Transits Forecaster and Astrogeography we will still deliver 6.0 because these programs yet has to be updated to work in sync with the new version. Of course, in such case you will get a new delivery ones the other programs been updated and don't forget you always have 1 year of free updates no matter what the new version number will be.

In the coming days we will make a series of updates to the site reflecting the new situation as well as setting up profiles for known customers that haven't had one yet.

Stay tuned for more news and the final release announcement.

I have tried to reach out to all old customers using their last known email address and for all addresses that has proven valid the process of creating online profiles are now going on. It has to be a manual action though, so please have some patience. However, if you are in urgent need of an upgrade or if you as an old customer haven't been contacted by now, please use the Contact Us link in footer menu here on site.

Apart from recreating our web presence I have also worked hard during the last months to get a new version of Astrocalc ready, a version that safely works on Windows Vista. Unfortunately it's not quite ready yet because, although Astrocalc is a very easy program to use, it is a very complex being internally and Vista does set some very hard conditions on security before it allows a program to really do what it wants and needs to do. I cannot promise this work will be completed before Christmas, just that I will do my best..

The good news is that if you are still running Windows XP, Windows ME or Windows 98 rather than Windows Vista there is nothing to prevent you from upgrading and in fact there are several good reasons to do so. First of all, Astrocalc 6.0 is in many ways a superior program to earlier versions and much easier to use. Just a few hits if you weren't aware of it:

• No need to first calculate the Natal radix when you want to do progressions, transits or synastry comparison, etc.
• Full World Atlas with automatic time zone calculation is included in all editions
• No need for a new code if you need to reinstall, or install on second computer (e.g. Notebook)
• 1 year of free updates, even if a new version is released, not just bug fixes
• and much more like a more modern user interface etc. etc.

Also, please note that although we endeavor to offer as much support as possible, Colin Miles has now retired and although he keeps in touch in the background, neither he nor I can offer other than minimal support for the older versions (the last 5.6 release was more than 6 years ago) and which were not adapted for the modern Windows platform. The best advice is to update to version 6 where we can give you our full support.

There is also another reason you should consider to upgrade, especially if you have an older then 5.6 version - your upgrade price. Astrocalc has always had (really) low upgrade prices, and they still are. In fact, ridiculously low if you look around. However, the reality has changed since the golden years of Astrocalc, the competition today is much harder and unfortunately the serious interest about astrology among the general public has not increased, at least not significantly. Hence, there will be a change and it will take place as the new version is released.

Stay tuned for more news and an email with your login credentials, if you are an old customer (and we have your email address of course).

Yours truly,
Joakim Schram, Astrocalc