Busy time with iCalMaker and some websites…..

Busy few days!

iCalMaker:

Work is continuing on some major changes to the ‘internals’ of iCalMaker (this will be rolled out as version 1.6). Nothing will be obvious to the user but significant changes have been made to the import of iCal calendars which now has improved compliance with the vcal format. Work is also progressing on making some changes to the export features (principally the text export) so that repeating events, where one of the events has been moved, are correctly reported in the text output.

One question….. How should these ‘moved-repeaters’, indeed, any of the repeaters, be shown in tab- and comma-delimited exporters?

Websites

MMISoftware also helps to maintain a copy of websites, namely The Face of Henley and the Henley Pages, and some of the time in the last couple of days has been spent updating the sites.

Making improvements to iCalMaker

Currently working on some improvements in iCalMaker.

Nothing major. Just chasing a few bugs, and improving import of ical (ics) files and error handling. No new features are planned, however, the work should result in a program that handles some situations better than present and stabilises the code-base prior to starting work on iCalMaker 2.

quickWebAlbum and JPEGCleaner updated to address some memory issues

All the programs from MMISoftware are regularly used and this process reveals problems with design/coding and also drives the future development of the software.

During the holiday period I was using quickWebAlbum and JPEGCleaner to send photos to friends and family and to create som quick online web albums. During this process it was discovered that both programs were ‘memory inefficient’ when handling large number of files, this problem has now been corrected. Also, quickWebAlbum was ‘falling over’ when it encountered pictures of a ‘weird’ size (i.e. panoramas were causing some problems).

If the programs pass final beta testing they should be released tomorrow (14th Jan 2004)…..

Where have all the entries gone?

I have been busy traveling, programming and writing blog entries and I have just discovered that none of the blog entries have appeared on-line….

It appears that the secret is to click on the ‘publish’ button… oooppppssss…..

The holidays over, and it is back to the programs

After a few weeks of dashing around (Christmas, New Year, and a skiing trip) it is now back to programming.

What will 2004 bring?

Well, some major updates are in the pipeline……

iCalMaker:

Currently at version 1.5.x. Since the release of 1.5 work has been continuing on updating the program. There are a number of changes/improvements planned for version 2. Some of the changes are at the request of users (thanks!), and some of the others are a result of my own needs/requirements*. There is a long list of changes (hence the jump to version 2) and these include, for example (and some of these may not make it through to the final version), expanded output of repeat events in to tab- and comma-delimited formats, improvements in the import of some types of repeating events, generation of ‘I’m free’ times and dates, increased customization via preferences (yes, the dimmed preference menu may become active!), handling of ‘to do’ events, plus many more…. Version 2 will be free-upgraded for registered users of version 1.0. However, the price for new users may be increased from $25 to $30….

Web Photos:

Version 2, has been finished for some time, however, due to other work and programming commitments, final beta testing has not started. Plus, I have now decided to move over to eSellerate for Web Photos so the ‘activation’ and ‘registration’ methods need to be overhauled. The cost of the program will stay the same, it will be a free upgrade for registered users (registered users will require a new activation code).

mailMaker:

Some minor changes are planned. The program will continue to evolve.

Power on X:

No major updates planned, other than moving the program over to eSellerate for sales so the ‘activation’ and ‘registration’ methods need to be overhauled (registered users will require a new activation code).

One trick ponies:

The one trick ponies continue to evolve, and, no doubt, some new ‘ponies’ will be added later in the year.

Changes to all:

As I now use MacPAD to update a shareware site (and I hope the other sites, i.e. Versiontracker and Macupdate, adopt the system) on program releases I am planning to incorporate a ‘version-check’ in all the programs that uses the MacPAD generated update file. The idea is that upon launch the program will automatically checks for newer versions of the program and alerts the user.

*It should be noted that all programs are used by the author, i.e. me, and this tends to drive some of the improvements.

France and Skiing

I have just returned from a week long trip to France for skiing. Had a great time. Stayed in a really nice little French town in an excellent little hotel. If time permits I may post more details and a few pictures at a later date…..

Happy 2004!

With Christmas over the new year approached….

This year it was spent in Glasgow, Scotland. A great evening but awful weather. Boy did it rain!

Went to a great party which finished just in time for me to catch the 8 am train to Edinburgh on New Years day!!!