Interview at Appboy
The good folks at Appboy have posted an interview with yours truly. A little about me, why I develop for the iPhone and my thoughts on the world of mobile.
Tallymander 2.0 Released
Loads of new features. Thanks to all who submitted suggestions for improving Tallymander. I can’t wait to hear what you think of the new app. Learn more about Tallymander here:
SwedeShop Web Roundup
It’s been quite a day for SwedeShop. Writeups on The Ikea Blog, Silicon Florist and IKEAFANS, as well as a Dutch review of SwedeShop at iPhoneclub.nl.
I knew IKEA was popular, but I had no idea SwedeShop would be so appealing. Glad it’s out in the world!
GlobeJot 1.0.2 available in the App Store
Version 1.0.2 addresses a peculiar login bug for TripIt users while improving iPhone OS 3.0 compatibility.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=317494953&mt=8
SwedeShop now available on the App Store
If you’ve ever shopped at IKEA, you’ll know why I built this app.
Learn more here:
Tallymander 2.0 Beta Signup Open
Tallymander 2.0 has been brewing and it’s almost beta time. 2.0 is chock full of new features requested by users and includes a complete refresh of the user experience.
Want to help test? Sign up here:
GlobeJot 1.0.1 available on the App Store
I’m glad to announce that GlobeJot 1.0.1 is now available for sale on the App Store. Thank you again to all of you for your support. Please contact me with any feedback.
GlobeJot 1.0.1 awaiting approval
Between five and ten percent of GlobeJot 1.0 users encountered crashes that wiped out trip data after they’d spent significant time inputting it. That sucks. That’s why GlobeJot isn’t on sale.
The reason this happened is simple and avoidable: A stray line of code mishandled some memory that belonged to a piece of the dashboard table. Sometimes, when memory ran low on the device, instructions were sent to that piece of memory to free itself. One too many instructions were sent, a condition in developer parlance known as “over-release.” This results in a crash. An annoying bug, but a simple one to fix.
The larger issue was a bone-headed decision to delay saving user data until the last possible second – when the application was told to quit. The gotcha, here, becomes obvious: if the application has crashed for some reason, there is no opportunity to save data. Which means if you spend some time putting in your entire trip, then encounter the crash bug before you quit GlobeJot, boom: your trip is gone.
A flawed implementation but, thankfully, one easy to remedy. First of all, GlobeJot 1.0.1 fixes the glaring crash bug in the dashboard. Some of you have never seen it, but for those who have, this will be welcome news. Next, GlobeJot saves its data much more frequently. Even in the event of some other, as yet undiscovered crash bug, your data will be safe. Finally, GlobeJot’s overall memory handling has been improved to reduce out of memory errors when your device’s RAM becomes constrained.
Eleven days ago, I submitted this new version to Apple. Unfortunately, even simple bug fix updates must pass their rigorous approval process. This is an important part of what makes the App Store so powerful: nothing destructive or unusable passes through this filter. There’s usually a nominal wait of about a week, but the release of iPhone OS 3.0 has a ton of app updates going through their pipeline. As a result, developers are seeing longer delays than usual. While the delay kills me, it’s part of how the game is played.
The good news is that nearly two weeks ago, GlobeJot’s major issues had been diagnosed and corrected. The bad news is that, until Apple gives the go-ahead, the fixed version is not available for your enjoyment.
I apologize once more for letting such a major combination of issues slip out the door with a shipping product. Nevertheless, I’m excited for the future of GlobeJot and I can’t wait for you to try out the new version. More news as I get it. Thank you again for your support and encouragement.
GlobeJot 1.0 removed from sale pending rewrite
Update: Good news – GlobeJot is fixed. Bad news – the update is still waiting in line for approval by Apple.
It is with the heaviest of hearts that I announce that I have removed GlobeJot from sale.
After three months of development and a month of beta, GlobeJot reached the App Store with performance issues that were not exposed until after release. This is a dark and shameful moment in my evolution and I offer my new customers the deepest of apologies.
I wish to be clear: I had the very best of beta testers working alongside me in the development of this application. Their work is exemplary. This failure is my own. I am responsible.
GlobeJot will go on. In the coming weeks I will undertake all necessary measures to bring this application to the high standards my customers deserve. Existing customers will receive the update free of charge.
All GlobeJot proceeds received between June 2 and June 4 will be donated to the Kristin Brooks Hope Center.
Customers who would like a refund for GlobeJot 1.0 are encouraged to request one using the following form:
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/store/browser/
Thank you to all who support me on this adventure. I am in your debt.
(Updated to include that existing customers will receive the next version at no charge)
GlobeJot 1.0 available in the App Store
Wow, this is an exciting day.
For the last three months, I’ve been working on GlobeJot.
I love travel. Nothing is more exciting to me than walking out into a strange airport and spending some time exploring a new place.
My trouble is that I’m not terribly organized during these jaunts. I get so carried away with being somewhere new that I forget practical stuff, like how to reach my hotel or where I stuffed my little ticket jacket.
I wrote GlobeJot because I wanted an easy way to sort through of all the little bits of information that I always end up losing track of.
Learn more about GlobeJot here or pick it up on the App Store.
12