Xslimmer 1.5 is Out!

It has taken us more than expected, but Xslimmer 1.5 is finally out.

Initially we intended to release this version along with Leopard, but we changed our strategy along the way. Feedback received from our testers and some difficulties in getting localizations recommended to dedicate some more time to this version. At the same time, we did not want to delay full Leopard compatibility, so we decided to add Leopard functionalities (code signing support, time machine exclusion, and others) to the 1.2 development line, while continuing to work on 1.5 at the same time.

Shortly after our initial Leopard-compatibility release we started to work on the preparation of the Christmas promotions we chose to take part in: MacUpdate bundle, and MacHeist II (as a loot for Mission 4). They both have been a success, and we have managed to get Xslimmer into the hands of many more customers.

The wait is now over. Thanks very much to all testers and to all our customers for your patience. We hope you enjoy this release, and that you see a lot of your suggestions covered by it.

Xslimmer 1.2.6 is Out

Featuring support for 64-bit binaries in Leopard, we released a new version of Xslimmer yesterday. Xslimmer will now correctly recognize Universal Binaries that contain 64-bit code. It will keep the 64-bit version of the binary on 64-bit capable machines running Leopard, or the 32-bit version otherwise. In addition, non-Mac architectures are now correctly identified. The release notes are available in our download page.

If you use Time Machine, please exclude the Time Machine backup path in Xslimmer preferences. Even though Xslimmer will not slim Time Machine backup apps, it will analyze them when the Genie is launched, resulting in an overall performance decrease. To avoid this, simply exclude that TM path. A future Xslimmer release will automatically detect and exclude Time Machine folders.

This release is not to be confused with the one for which we are now in betatest period. We just borrowed some of its features, to ensure that Leopard was fully supported.

Enjoy Xslimmer and Leopard!

Interested in testing the new Xslimmer?

We have finally pushed the Xslimmer version to a few testers. This is the start of the private beta.

We would like to add a few more people to the beta testing group. So, if you are interested in testing the new Xslimmer version, and want to help us in giving it the finishing touches by sending us your comments or bug reports, please contact us.

Back...after the break

As with every major release of an application, not only the days prior to the release are very intensive, but also the days after. With Xslimmer 1.2 it has not been different. Issues, doubts, questions, bugs, feedback. Lots of hours of dedication and little sleep.

The most important bug was what I initially called the "UK English Bug", which at the end also had an important impact on our German customers. After a few hours of being detected, we released 1.2.1 in order to fix it. Incredibly, none of our beta testers were German or UK English people. We apologize to those who suffered this issue.

A few days later, with 1.2.2 we fix some other minor fixes and tweaks were introduced. Then, we took a break. For a few days, we had enough with our day jobs and our families.

Right now we are back, and starting with 1.2.3 and our general Xslimmer roadmap. We shall keep you posted.

Xslimmer 1.1.2 has been released

After the release of the first non-beta of Xslimmer we have been quite busy. Lots of emails with questions, suggestions, and so on. Now we are back with our implementation roadmap, and today we have released version 1.1.2.

In this new version you will find the dock-drop feature: applications can now be dropped to Xslimmer's dock icon, making it even easier to slim them down. Apps can also be dropped on the application icon. This was requested by several people since the application was made known. In addition, we had still to optimize one heavy-duty loop. This optimization has also made it into this release, along with an optimization into checking applications dropped against the blacklist. Finally, we introduce some changes into de animation between windows that should make them smoother, particularly in PowerPC systems.

And now, to work on 1.1.3. Take care.

Xslimmer 1.0.7.RC2

We have released a new version of Xslimmer, 1.0.7.RC2. With the previous release, 1.0.6.RC1 we believe to have achieved significant application stability. The new release will build upon that, featuring:

- Speed boost: 3x app analysis speed after drag.
- Reduced memory consumption: Previously, applications with a significant amount of files could take up several megabytes of memory. Due to this, dropping a significant amount of apps onto Xslimmer could end up filling up the system's memory, forcing the Mac to paginate, thus becoming very slow. In 1.0.7 each application will take only a few kilobytes. I tested it with 240+ apps, and memory consumption did not even increase by 1 megabyte.
- Centralized application blacklisting: New system to prevent slimming applications that fail to behave correctly after slimming due to integrity checks. This new system will differ from the current protected applications scheme. The protected application scheme will be for you to voluntarily protect whichever app or path you want to protect. The blacklist system will be able to gather the latest information from the Internet, and protect apps known to fail.
- Projected application size: You can see how much space you will save before actually slimming.
- Slight GUI modifications.

As these changes are pretty significant, version 1.0.7 is now our second release candidate, or RC2.

Stay tuned.