Pinocchio becomes a real boy
2004.07.14--The chain of events that began one morning this past January has finally come full circle. In a move endorsed by the Helix Recovery Team, a private investor has purchased Helix® Software Technologies out of bankruptcy in Southern California.
Our new company is called QSA ToolWorks, LLC. Our logo, like us, is a work in progress. We have joined forces with the understanding that our current process and course of development will be preserved and funding will be contributed to that end.
For the Helix community, this is as clear a signal as we can send you that we are committed to shipping Helix 6 and 7. But this announcement is in no way, shape or form intended to imply that any of us can afford to sit back and relax now. Though we now become its owners in addition to being its stewards, Helix still has a long trip ahead of it. We have yet to ship the first of our Helix 6 products. If you've been holding back on upgrading for fear of our impending disappearance, this is the time to show your support. We have clearly demonstrated our ability to fund our own development and we need your upgrades to continue to do that. Every one who upgrades now gets Helix 5.3 for free and a discount on Helix 6. Everyone who helps this effort finances the future. From the beginning of this trip it's just been that simple.
Dealing with the issue of Helix ownership has been a quiet, yet constant sideshow to the actual work of getting Helix to where it is right now. In January of this year, it became a much larger distraction than it needed to be, yet at the same time, it presented an unprecedented opportunity to get a lot of stuff fixed, as we like to say. So now, we're happy to report that the distraction is behind us at last and we can really focus on getting the rest of Helix 6 finished and Helix 7 underway.
Freed from the constraints of the past, today can be the beginning of a new era for Helix. We believe the newest member of our team will help us build a strong foundation for the future. As noted above, there'll be more information soon. We promise to give you "the official story" in an upcoming Latest Word or two or three. Since it plays a lot like a soap opera, don't be surprised if it means that there'll be some reading in your future. For now, we just wanted to get the word out. We've been carrying this around so long...
One of the best lessons we've learned in the past two years is that doing it right more often than not means having the right people doing the work. Every member of the Recovery Team has sacrificed something to bring Helix to this place in its journey. As have its "patron saints." Soon you'll get a chance to know who some of them are. In our weekly HelixChat, they might occasionally step into the spotlight, and you'll have the opportunity to interact without having to guess who they are.
We look forward to a great future. We've all got our work cut out for us and every one of us is committed to seeing it through to completion. With your continued support, we will see Helix start to grow again, starting now.