Original matrix.itasoftware.com is now gone?
 

matrix.itasoftware.com now loads the Beta (what was previously matrix2.itasoftware.com)

if this is a permanent change, a moment of silence please for what was the greatest search tool ever created. :(

[EDIT]
the original is still available. whew!
http://matrix1.itasoftware.com

was just about to post the same thing; old search page was up this afternoon even, thanks for the link.

Hmm, while I can't get to the useful place for the life of me if I just go to itasoftware.com I can still find the old version selecting a previous link from browser history:

http://matrix1.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch

Just tried it for a random SAN-SFO trip and seemed to work

Update from ITA
 

Moments ago we officially declared the new version of our shopping site to
be out of beta and consequently made it the default shopping path.

This new version of our Matrix has grown a lot over the last 1.5 years
since we put it out and asked for your input. Some of you gave us
great feedback and we incorporated a lot of it. Thanks a bunch! We
also made sure that we ported nearly everything that made our proven
Matrix site unique (such as the color bars or the routing language)
and sprinkled in a few new things like a map based destination centric
airport picker, events, a new flexible calendar and better result
filters.

Our existing shopping page, now dubbed "Matrix Classic" is not going
away any time soon. It is linked from the new shopping search page and
got a new URL (matrix1.itasoftware.com). Since it uses the same search
engine, the quality of the results will continue to be on par with the
new interface.

However, can I ask you for one favor? If you decide to
stick with Matrix Classic, can you still give the new one another spin
and use the comment link to let us know why you use Classic?. We
addressed a lot of your concerns (but not all of them) and it is very
helpful for us to refresh our knowledge on the weaknesses we might
still have.

I hope we'll continue to be a helpful tool for your travels.

Your friendly ITA Product Management Team

Nice to have the official response! Thank you very much.

I've tried the second generation software a few times most of my discomfort is simply resistance to change - I'm happy with the first version and am reluctant to give it up...

However, one issue I do have is when selecting airports nearby - checking each individual box is tedious. Please include a select all button. Or if there's already a way to do it someone please pass that on.

ITAGirl: Welcome to FT! ITA is a deservedly popular tool among us and we appreciate the continued presence of ITA representatives.

While I got used to the functional spartan appearance of Matrix1, I have tried Matrix2 and agree with you that it has come a long way. In fact the only feature of Matrix1 I miss there is the ability to specify a 300 mile radius around a bunch of cities like "NYC,ORD".

One feature I have requested often and should be both easy to implement and extremely popular, at least around here, would be to provide Cost/Mile for various itineraries and make it a sortable column. That way, in addition to other criteria, we could rank itineraries in order of Cost/Mile.

Oh, and please publish the route language. You don't have to "support" it, just let us know what the syntax and commands are, so we don't have to depend on leaks and accidental discoveries. :)

Welcome again, and I hope you'll be a regular presence here.

Just tried the old and the new for a DCA-DEN trip. I was trying to maximize miles, so wanted more, not less stops.

The old matrix gave me a DEN-PDX-ORD-DCA flight. The new matrix didn't.

If it's the same engine, what happened? I entered "UA+" in each case, got multiple cities in each case, but missing the flight with the highest mileage in the new version, which is what I was looking for.

I tried to send a comment about how unusable Matrix2 is on the iPad, but that doesn't work very well either. Basically, every search results in an error message: "Sorry, there was a problem handling your request." What's most frustrating is that it actually appears to be working correctly. However, the error message is modal, and the only way to dismiss it is by clicking the "Start New Search" button.

(BTW, the iPhone app is fantastic. An iPad-native version would be welcome indeed and probably render the web UI issues moot.)

Thanks for being a participating FT member ITAGIRL. If not for your post I would not have bothered to use the comment link to send you folks screen shots of ..

Searched for:

rdu::aa+ - scl::aa+ 0 nights starting on Sep 3rd using both classic and new. Both showed $1,195 options on the 4th. Classic worked like I expect, matrix2 was unable to show flights claiming there are none.

This is the reason I'm not eager to adopt the new version, it's reliability isn't as good as the old one.

Missing feature in Matrix2
 

ITAGIRL - The Modify Search button of Matrix1 does not appear in Matrix2 forcing the user to back track and start all over again. It is a useful feature and should be added to "2". I will probably continue to use "1" All I want is something down and dirty - fast - I don't care for graphics - just the facts will do. If I had a choice I'd go back to CPM or whatever powered my old EAL system. GUI's have made life maybe simpler for new agents but it hasn't made new agents better agents. I do appreciate the fact that ITA follows the tariff but try to take some its constrcutions to an agent or to the airline itself and they deny the ticket can be written. Case in point BJX-BKK on AM via TIJ and NRT. AM at first simply claimed it didn't go to BKK and later denied it had a rates desk. It took a bit of pushing and I finally got the tkt.

khunbill in BJX
EAL BOSRR until the bitter end
LH Tariff certificates 1&2

There is a link on the home page to the older version.

Where are the airline specific checkboxes on the results calendar for a month long search? They still appear just fine on Matrix1, but I can't seem to find them on the Matrix2 results screen.

Welcome to FT ITAGiRL. My limited experience in using Matrix 2 is that it is not quite ready for primetime. Here's an example:

Searching for best fare for 30-day window for a 4 night trip MCO/SIN. Best fare calandar shows $1208 RT departing 6 Nov. When clicking through to show flights I get tons of DL options, then it goes to quite expensive multiple airline options. It fails to show any UA only flts.

OTOH, Matrix 1 shows great UA options departing MCO on 6 Nov to SIN, returning 10 Nov.

The power of using language commands in Matrix 1 to limit search to specific fares & airlines is fantastic. I do not see the same power in Matrix 2. As an experienced Matrix 1 user, I find it much more useful.

BTW, on the above example, ITA misses the UA fares of $1198 AI for the exact trip on united.com. Unsure what's up.

Finally, could you please comment on the business model that makes it advantageous for ITA to offer the v useful service to us searchers without taking a cut of a ticket? I've never figured it out, but am thankful....

+1 ^

ITAGIRL Welcome to Flyertalk. We all use this great search tool but have to agree with previous posters that when beta testing new matrix it had a few flaws that haven't appeared to be fixed prior to launch, specifically the "modify" search button is missing & it doesn't seem to have all UA flights showing...a fatal flaw for me, especially when I can find them on UA site & cheaper than on ITA! I'll continue using new matrix & providing feedback but will most likely be using combination of the Classic & new version until suggestions have been implemented.

Definitely agree with Aktchi on:
Again, thank you for this wonderful search tool.